Jaune The Strong
by Fangazer
Summary: Jaune Arc has found life to be normal until he meets a family heirloom that changes his life. For the best or worst, this meeting will begin his path on becoming a hero...one with lots of pain equal to many gains. Plot: Present, before Volume 3 Jaune x Harem
1. Are You Really My Master!

Chapter 1: Are You Really My Master?!

A/N: Thanks for reading. Hope you can favorite, comment, and follow when you can.

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Jaune sighed as he swung his sword for the umpteenth time. His arm lacking strength, he swung again only to find out he was tired again. He glanced around to see that he was on the roof dubbed his and Pyrrha's training spot. Since it was nighttime and he didn't make an appointment, the leader of Team Juniper was alone.

Crestfallen, the blonde boy sat down with shield and sword still in his hands. Pondering, he found out that a lot that happened in the recent events.

For his own sake, he managed to get some closure on his former crush, Weiss, the renowned Ice Princess. Right after that was a dance he rocked with a dress thanks to lessons from his army of sisters. And somehow, deep inside, something told him that he and Pyrrha had found common grounds with each other. He still didn't get the full answer since his mind wasn't always on the subject of relationships.

Then came the Grimm situation in Vale. Ruby called him for help that was swiftly answered. And just like that, the fight was over once human forces combined their strength. All was right in the world for the blonde boy as he was becoming stronger, wiser, even handsome as time passed on.

Unfortunately, that wasn't enough for Jaune. He noticed that there was something evil out there, something he couldn't put his finger on since he was constantly put out of the loop. Plus, his desire to prove himself grew by the passing day. Dragging his friends around during his and their free time wasn't something he could stomach as a pure-hearted boy.

And that's what led to his current frustration. Alone, tired, and dissatisfied with his progress. Jaune wasn't an idiot. He knew it took time to get stronger. But for some reason, he really wished he could get to that point sooner than later.

"Oh well, I should turn in for the night." Jaune picked up and placed in his weapons and walked on towards the rooftop exit. When his hand reached for the doorknob, he noticed there was something shining in the air.

Curious, the blonde boy looked up to see a shining comet fly towards him. Gazing, his astute mind suddenly realized what was wrong with this scenario.

One second took him to see he was standing under the projectile's crash site. It took another for him to roll away into a crouch with shield up. Behind his cover, Jaune remained strong and prepared for a force that may blast him off the roof.

When nothing came, Jaune looked up and over his metallic protection. His eyes captured the sight of something that he realized could have been the most bizarre thing he's seen to date, especially as a student of Beacon.

The 'comet' that was about to hit him was floating in mid-air. Unlike the rocks from space, this one was shaped like a diamond necklace, a sparkling jewel on a string and shining in white and gold. Its intricate patterns and marks showed that this item was not anything of this earth. Instead, it was too beautiful to be anything that came from Remnant.

" **Hi, are you…Jaune Arc?"**

And this form of jewelry just talked to the confused teenager. A mature, male voice with a bit of joy, this item didn't have a mouth to speak to him. So some strange workings were going on; the logic for this was just going way over Jaune's head.

" **You are, aren't you? Damn, I never thought I was able to find you out here. Why is a place called Beacon so hard to find out in the boonies?!"**

Jaune jumped when the necklace flew over to wrap its string around his neck. Looking down at the jewelry, he felt nervous to see that he didn't have a say on whether or not the talking necklace could approach him.

"Boonies?" Jaune asked out loud. "What boonies is there?"

" **Emerald Forest, Vale City, Forever Fall?! Hello, Vale is the land for the folkspeople which equates to the boonies! Dustarnit! Are you really my master?!"**

Jaune winced as the voice grew louder with its condescending tone. Righting himself, the boy looked around to see if someone was pulling a prank that may involve a Semblance.

" **I'm not a stupid whoopee cushion or a joybuzz. Okay, not exactly something the ladies would swoon over like the Snow White dress that makes me question your manliness. "**

Surprised how the talking item knew about his past deed, Jaune asked, "H-how did you know that?! Are you reading my mind?!"

"… **Maybe, and you can't prove it. Can't say I am looking at the redhead who's hot as…wow, how'd you get her as your partner? Did you score yet?! Is my boy a man?! Hue hue, someone's taken after the example of a hero."**

"Stop that!" Holding his head, Jaune closed his eyes shut. "Stop reading my mind or I'll…I'll sell you for low price at a pawn shop!"

" **If you do, then I won't be able to become your super boost, power-up, the piece to your incomplete puzzle of manhood. By the way, sell me at a peasant's shop and I'll come back after you get the lien. Rinse and repeat, we'll get rich enough to buy our own Kingdom. From there, we'll conquer the Dust Company before the world!"**

Jaune felt dizzy from hearing about plans that obviously involved manipulating the world economy. He hated it as these plans weren't anywhere close to his goals of becoming a Hunter, much less a hero.

"Look, I'm sure that you're… decent in some ways." Jaunce winced when he heard the necklace blow raspberries at him.

" **Liar, you just wondered if I'm cursed. Not cursed, a blessing that was handed down from the bloody hands of your forefathers to the dirty ones of their sons. And sadly, dirt and grime were not on their grubby little fingers, especially in their teenage years."**

Blessing was far from Jaune's choice of description. He still did his best to raise his open hands so he could get ready to yank and throw. "Family relations, great. Us getting along, that might not work out because we're so…different."

" **Whatever, I'm here, so I'm going to make you strong, Jaune. Mark my words, you're going to have girls and riches that'll make the boys cry and more women love you or my name isn't Lou Caliber!"**

Jaune paused as he heard the necklace just introduce itself. For some reason, the name seemed odd, yet fitting, as if it had relations to an old legend .

" **Oh, by the way, hold out your sword arm and cry out Luminous Shine. I'm tired from flying out of your old man's home, but I want to help you mark the day we, the dynamic duo, met!"**

"No, there is no way that I'm going to use anything from you. Please, just leave me alone." By now, Jaune was trying hard to rip off the necklace. Shockingly, the string felt like it was three times stronger than Cardin's arms doing a neck choke.

" **Did you just say please?"** Lou sounded enraged. **"Okay, lesson one! Never say please. Real men take what they want, own what they want, especially blow up every damn thing when they have the power!"**

Jaune felt his arm holding his sword rise against his will. Unsure why this was happening, he struggled only to feel that his weapon was high enough for it to be swung down.

" **Well, here goes nothing. Shall we say, hell yes?"**

"No, stop it!" Too late, Jaune's arm swung its sword until the metal blade struck the rooftop. From there, an explosion of light went off along with the sound of rock and stone blowing apart. Jaune's mouth did a big 'O' as the light died down to show the resulting destruction.

" **See? See? Got some power I can hand to you. You got some enemies? One command from you and kabloom! They're a thing of the past….well, right after I recover from that stupid trip. Ouch, my tips feel so sore."**

Jaune couldn't protest as he was still trying to find out how Lou gave him the power to blow apart a hug corner of the rooftop. He was more thankful that nobody was up here due to how people would be elsewhere in this time of the night.

Fear of getting caught, Jaune ran through the exit so he could go back to his room. Along the way, the boy feared the worst when he heard Lou's laugh that portrayed an ominous future.

" **Hit and run, I love your style, Jaune. That's right, we're going to rise so high, even the gods and goddesses will be put to shame! My master, you and I are going to rise from a dull zero to a sexy, rich hero!"**

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A/N: So…ready for this kind of story? For readers of my past stories, yes, lots of action and a good amount of romance will be in this since there is a planned harem.

Plus, I hope Lou's form as an OC rock would be acceptable since he's here for Jaune's sake. He also has a color name, but that'll be revealed much later. ;)


	2. Morning Bombshell

Chaper 2: Morning Bombshell

A/N: So the response to the first chapter was awesome… decided to let this out a few days earlier.

And thanks for reading this far. Hope you can still comment. Spread the word of this story too, would love to also answer any questions people would have based on what is read.

Although it's been a really long time, this chapter is also in honor of Monty Oum, who helped me begin my attempts in creating something. May he rest in peace and his legacy continue on in many forms.

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Last night was Jaune's worst experience ever. Compared to Cardin's bullying, Lou's entrance and revealed intentions made the boy briefly wish he wasn't a student of Beacon. If the living jewelry stuck to its words, then there was a good chance that Jaune's life in school was going to be ruined in a matter of days, maybe hours if his luck really is the worst kind.

In fact, Jaune had a feeling that this morning was going to be a path down to his doom. A sign would have been a heat source that was behind him as he was lying on his bed and under white sheets. Along with this body heat, the second thing Jaune noticed were the two, soft mounds that made contact with the back of his white t-shirt. His legs were also intertwined with strong ones; one knee was almost up to his crotch that was covered by his black shorts.

"Hello?" Using a soft voice, Jaune tried not to believe that he was in a bad situation. When he tried to move away, two arms of strong, slender build moved around his abdomen before embracing from behind. As the mounds dug deeper, hot breaths tickling his neck made the boy's adolescent nature slowly kick into overdrive.

And judging by the body's sturdy frame, the blonde victim had a guess of who was sleeping right behind him.

" **Morning Jaune, like your present? Got to say, she's drop-dead gorgeous in person, much less in her pj's."**

Jaune closed his eyes as Lou made its greeting inside his mind with some strange form of telepathy. He glanced down to see that the jewel was partially inside his shirt. He placed all the blame onto the necklace for now and the coming events.

" **Come on, enjoy the moment. Although unlike the old days, this case would mean that you already did something with her. Oh well, just be glad that I, the Amazing Lou, gave you a perfect opportunity."**

" _Or we could get into trouble if any teacher catches us."_ Using his thoughts to communicate, Jaune would have done a face-palm as Lou made a noise of surprise. Either the necklace was feigning shock or it really didn't know about the modern views of indecency.

Turning his head, Jaune inwardly groaned when he saw Pyrrha's slumbering face. Looking closer, he saw that the bare light from the covers above created a pristine effect on her face, a Sleeping Beauty whose long, crimson hair flowed down her arm like silk clothing.

" **Screw you, your generation also happens to break a lot of those gender standards. One action was all it took and voila, she's ready for ya. Now, just gently grab her head and lean in so we can get this one settled before the next maiden."**

Jaune pushed the covers off of his head and squinted from the light of Saturday morning. Nervous, he glanced over at the room's other bed to see Nora and Ren there, gently breathing as they were still residents of their own dreamland.

This made it worse as Jaune didn't know how the hell he was going to fix whatever Lou did to get him into this mess. To make things worse, Pyrrha slowly sat up with half-closed eyes as her first action of coming awake.

Yawning, she stretched her arms up, leaving the sight of her red, button-up shirt clear for Jaune to see. He almost stared at how Pyrrha's hair was untied, giving him a rare, lax view of the strong warrior. When his eyes met her outlined chest, he looked away after his mind flashed back to what happened a few moments ago

"Good morning Jaune."

"Morning…Pyrrha?" The blonde teenager didn't know why his red-haired partner didn't have much of a reaction to their situation. "Did you sleep well?"

"Of course." Pyrrha dipped her lovely legs out of the covers and over the side of the bed. This showed that from feet to plump thighs, they were almost bare if not for the black shorts. "And how are you? You seemed tuckered out last night. Is that why you had to sleep early?"

That was far from the truth, but Jaune had to resort to lying so he could cover up his accidental destruction on the rooftop. "Yep, just did some training while you guys were getting debriefed by those Atlas soldiers."

"That's nice. If you've improved, then I'll need to see how much in our next sparring match." One hand on bed, Pyrrha slowly slid over to the spot occupied by the surprised Jaune. After her head was inches from his face, the boy remained still as he didn't know why his partner was giving him a loving stare.

" **Wow, she's setting herself up for you! Come on, take the bait and get something started! Be a man!"**

Jaune froze as he didn't understand what Lou was yelling about in his mind. All he could do was smile and try to make sense of what was going on. He also had to avoid the temptation of looking down Pyrrha's loose clothes.

" **Hug chest-to-chest, French kiss! Do something! I know you two are friends, but that boundary is going to be a huge pain in the ass if it's not gone soon!"**

"Hey…did I do something strange to you last night?" While Jaune asked this with a straight face, he also went through the trouble of blocking out Lou's complaints from his mind. "I mean, we're both in the same bed and you don't mind. That means I'm missing context that's making sense of this."

Pyrrha frowned as her eyes narrowed, something that meant only bad tidings for Jaune. "You…don't remember? Are you saying that was an accident?"

A pregnant pause ensued between the two teenagers. For Jaune's case, he was more lost than his first trek through Emerald Forest. Lou's sudden silence, probably from anger, only obscured the boy's ability to come up with a solution.

"No explosions or interruptions, but you two somehow take the mood down that direction?"

Jaune and Pyrrha jumped from the annoyed voice. Their search for its source led to the discovery of Nora sitting while she was in a white, sleeveless shirt and pink sweatpants. Beside her was Ren in his green pajamas, holding his head with both hands as if he was recovering from a trip to the afterlife.

Heart beating fast, Jaune heard his partner exclaim, "N-nora, were you awake this entire time?!"

"Yeah, and be glad that I was. Any more of this and one of you might have made a big mistake." Nora crossed her arms and frowned to show her frustration. "And Jaune, you really were sleeping last night? Especially when Pyrrha came over to pull the covers up your body? It seemed way too coincidental that you would wrap your arms around her and pull her in while your mind was shut down."

Jaune felt the urge to rip Lou off of his neck and throw it out the window. Knowing this wasn't an option for many reasons, the boy was only able to nod and reply, "Yeah, it's weird isn't it? I must have had quite the dream if it made my body move like that."

Nora sighed with head shaking while Ren yawned like the dead would after coming back to life. To Jaune, the worst expression he saw was Pyrrha's eyes glancing down in disappointment. Still unsure why the girls would make these kind of faces, he felt there had to be some way to make up for the unknown wrong he has done.

" **Idiot, it's not your fault,"** said Lou's voice. **"Perkness right there is trying to make things work out for you two. Now Pyrrha here didn't announce the one thing you said that actually convinced her to share the same bed."**

Inside his head, Jaune sighed, _"I did something else? What else could I have done?"_

" **Mumble that you wanted her, your one and only partner, to stay the night so you could sleep better. And it's my fault for the hug, not the words that I just found out came from your sisters' favorite soap opera. But it worked out in the end, so way to go, Casanova. Now if you only had your dad's libido."**

Jaune was about to inwardly object when he noticed Pyrrha look up to make eye contact. "Then I should be the one apologizing. It didn't seem like you to just do something so bold. So…I'm sorry."

For some reason, Jaune felt distraught as his partner was trying to take the blame in a noble attempt to cover up this mishap. "It's nobody's fault," he quickly remarked. "Last night, I started this and…nothing really happened. I mean, we're old enough to be responsible to not let things get weird, right?"

Nora jumped off her side of the bed and chirped, "I totally agree! And since my bed buddy isn't someone who likes to whisper your name, we should keep these arrangements until further notice. Wouldn't you agree, Ren? Ren?"

Everyone looked over at the black-haired teenager to see he was staring off into space. Concerned, Jaune asked, "Ren? Are you okay? What's wrong?"

"I just had the weirdest dream." Ren placed a hand against his forehead with his eyes closed in pain. "I was…a producer of a hit web-series. The characters were…us? I think, but our bodies were made up of so many geometries on a computer. Thinking about it just hurts my head right until something…terrible happened."

Nora placed a knee on her bed and patted a hand against her aching partner's cheek. "Come on, it's morning Ren. You're back in this world now, so get up, breathe the air, and let's get something to eat. Mornings shouldn't be filled with so much dread."

Ren only gave a silent nod as his orange-haired partner dragged him out of bed so they could go to their respective restrooms. Jaune saw that as the two went out, he felt strangely relieved that his 'brother' was doing well.

" **Speaking of weird, check out Pyrrha's face. Her cheeks are redder than a virgin's first time!"**

Jaune saw that his partner's face really was holding a deep, crimson color. Believing it to be the issue in his own mind, he said, "So I guess we share the bed by unanimous decision…I think. Are you okay with that?"

Pyrrha coughed once before her face formed a comfortable smile. "Sure, although I can't promise about sharing the covers."

"Then take all of it if you want. It always gets hot back when Ren and I had to share a bed." In his sigh, Jaune wondered if this was a good idea to even begin with. "But…if things do get awkward, then don't be afraid to tell me. Even the small things, just make sure to share them with me, okay?"

When Jaune saw Pyrrha nod, he also noticed that her smile was natural enough to make him feel calm. His newfound state didn't let him notice the small, red tinge on the girl's cheeks.

At this point, he was busy tolerating the downpour of complaints Lou was sending in his mind.

"Oh, that's a beautiful necklace. Where did you get it?" Pyrrha's question didn't help with the situation. Before Jaune could hope to find an answer that didn't involve Lou's input, static filled the air before a male's voice made its unexpected announcement."

"All students, report to the amphitheater. Repeat, all students report within half an hour. Professor Goodwitch requires everyone to be present for the news of last night's incident."

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A/N: Wonder what the old professor has in mind? Hopefully nothing too serious.

Plus, hank you everyone for being so supportive, especially these guys:

Champion of Fate

Twilight Rasengan

ThatOneGuy and a guest (anonymous users)

Silent Soviet

Utoplex

N-Rogue

DragonOfChallenges

FootPootShoot

OnTheCobb

Not always going to do this, but this is to show appreciation for what all of you have done for the story since its first chapter.


	3. Popular Confession

Chapter 3: Popular Confession

A/N: So if all of you noticed the new picture, it comes from an artist from Deviantart known as NaryanK. For those of you who like it, please send thanks to him too as he made this free for me and other users who would like to use it.

Plus, his notes said this is a KyKisuke version of Jaune Arc. In the future, our young hero may as well become someone as reliable as Guilty Gear's former soldier and current king.

Highlight: Over 9000!

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" **You're a dustard, from the shard to the full crystal. Why do you have to be a good little boy and set boundaries? Why do you do that!?"**

In his normal clothes of white armor and plain wear, Jaune frowned at Lou's mental comment. _"Because it's the right thing to do. Is that really an issue?"_

" **Not if you want to have the best of everything, especially when it can involve more than one girl. I'm trying to teach you how to enjoy life, not restrict it with these rules and morals of peaceful times. And can someone please tell me when I'm going to see or sense a real Hunter in this damn school?"**

Jaune gently sighed as he sat on the bench of Beacon's amphitheater, near his team and friends as he usually did. He opened his eyes to stare at Goodwitch standing at the middle of the area used for combat practice. Her sharpened eyes told him that she called almost everyone, even the upperclassmen, to this room based on events relating to him.

"Now, several of you may wonder why we required everyone to attend this impromptu meeting. For those who were near the site of incident, you would already have an answer to this question."

Goodwitch's announcement was followed by a screen blinking into existence above her head. Its surface showed a picture of a wrecked site that Jaune recognized as the building he destroyed after his meeting with Lou.

" **Damn it, we could do a lot better than that scratch. Once we get you trained, you could probably destroy a building on whim. Scratch that, we'll get a Grimm kill count of over 9000 within a year."**

Jaune didn't feel comfortable about this info. Feeling lost, he maintained his rapt attention on Goodwitch as her riding crop in hand tapped against her palm.

"The damage from this image had traces of Aura. Atlas has been kind enough to share a prototype invention that may help us recognize the culprit. Would any of you like to admit in doing this crime or is it safe to assume that none of our students would ever consider vandalism on these hallowed grounds? Hm?Anyone?"

Goodwitch's ultimatum made the other students look around and whisper, signs of wondering if one of their own really did it. Only Jaune's eyes remained wide in fear as he didn't want to reveal anything to anyone, even those close to him.

" **Lookie here, that old beauty did a favor for us. See, my next lesson is me telling you that becoming famous involves attention. And what better way than to raise your hand and show the power in your disposal? I did say I'm an amplifier for your potential, right?"**

Jaune felt one arm rise as it was under Lou's control. In distress, he struggled to pull down his uncontrollable limb. _"Stop it, I do not want to get expelled. I happen to like my life here, especially before you came!"_

" **Wuss, at this rate, you're never going to be the hero that everyone needs. Or was the info on those fake transcripts the only accomplishments you want to have in your life?"**

Lou's reveal of this sensitive information made Jaune lose his focus, thus his control. Arm high up, he sighed as Goodwitch aimed her eyes that may as well fry him upon sight.

"Mr. Arc…if you're raising your hand to go to the restroom, such action isn't required. A quiet entrance is enough for this meeting to continue undisturbed."

While Jaune felt glad for his teacher's misunderstanding, Lou's reaction was more on the angry side. **"Oh, so this old hag thinks you're that lacking huh? Well, prepared to be surprised. Jaune, keep your hand in the air for me."**

The blonde teenager didn't have a choice, especially when a ball of white light appeared at the palm of his hand before it flew up and around its owner's head. This newfound ability didn't shock only Jaune; it made everyone gawk at him as none knew that he was able to do something like this with his Aura.

" **What? Don't tell me none of you can do this at your age. Exactly who is teaching…oh, it's that broad. Is her stick too far up that fine ass for her to consider giving a proper lesson?"**

Jaune was incredibly glad that nobody was able to hear Lou's language. This also brought up confusion as he wasn't sure of whether or not he deserved the curious eyes of his fellow classmates.

"Is he using his Semblance?"

"Doesn't look like it. It's too raw in form."

"So it's Aura control? But we don't learn something that advanced until later."

Conversations of praise and wonder radiated from the seats. Several scrolls were raised to take pictures for later shares with the Scrollgram, an online exchange involving pictures.

Jaune was in a limbo of bashful and panic as his arm was still up and wouldn't budge. He glanced down to see that his friends and teammates had their own expressions, most related to surprise. Only Sun and Yang had their Scrolls out to take pictures. They were smiling from having the best spot that anyone could ask for in this moment of hype.

"Are all of you too stupid to see that's a parlor trick?"

Everyone turned to the voice that belonged to Cardin Winchester, a.k.a the school bully and half-baked beefcake. In his gray armor, the taller boy stood up from his seat and pointed a finger with a malevolent grin. "Exactly how is this alright? We just found our crook who admitted his crime. Let's slap a bill on him and be done with this assembly rather than waste time looking at Jauney Arse."

Jaune quietly groaned as his former 'buddy' was right. He was the reason why everyone was here; the peacekeeper known as Goodwitch had the right to present a suitable punishment to carry out justice.

"Mr. Arc, if this is true, am I to believe that you recently discovered this ability? You've never shown any evidence of your current capabilities."

"N-not really," Jaune said to answer the blonde teacher. "From time to time, sure, but not like last night. It was more of an accident." To the boy's fortune, he didn't feel any guilt since he told the truth. In a general sense, coincidence was all any witness would have called Lou's bold actions that involved its victim's body.

Even better was how Goodwitch was nodding with eyes that held none of her former malice. "Then so be it. Accidents tend to happen in these cases. The only punishment is a stern warning for you to be more careful. Perhaps a later visit to Professor Ozpin would be best as he may examine you for any irregularities."

Jaune sighed in relief at this news. He noticed his friends and others nearby had the same expression for various reasons. The only ones different were Cardin, his gang, and the students who didn't seem to approve the attention Jaune was getting.

" **Ah, they'll live with it,"** Lou assured. **"By the way, Glynda there has this lonely vibe coming from her strict attitude. Would older woman be of some interest to you, angel boy?"**

While Jaune was sitting with hand still raised to hold onto his Aura ball, he noticed that Cardin also sat down with a dramatic. A second later, the bully had the nerve to raise his hand and flip out the forbidden bird, a middle finger of displeasure in a way only Jaune could see it.

Lou was also strange with its unusual pause until it calmly said, **"Yeah, he's dead. We accept his duel, right Jaune?"**

" _What duel?!"_ The blonde boy never had a chance to reply as his arm automatically flung forward. This made his Aura ball fly forth until it made contact with Cardin's head and blew up like a grenade.

Being the only one harmed, Cardin fell like a chopped tree and rolled into the next row right into the laps of Dove and Sky. Arms flailing, he fell onto the ground in such a comical way that had everyone laughing at the poor boy.

"Enough!" Goodwitch's voice boomed out loud, immediately overtaking her merciful behavior she showed to Jaune. "Mr. Arc, you have somehow broken two rules in the same amount of days. Is this the one where punishment for you actions needs to be severe?"

"But….I lost control again. I didn't really mean it." Jaune's excuse was accepted by one half of the audience. The other, including a cackling Lou, knew it as absolute bullshit.

Once Cardin was up, he went over to his seat where his mace was at. After grabbing the weapon, he began to make the climb up the stairs as his shame and pain commanded him to his act of blind revenge. Before the bully could come closer, he stopped once Team Juniper, especially Pyrrha, stood up with their bodies blocking the sight of their leader.

"What? Are you three stupid?! Your leader just physically attacked me!" Cardin aimed his mace at Jaune, who was truly sorry for causing this amount of tension in the first place.

"Hit the road," Nora yelled as she made a shooing motion with both hands. "You always start the fights and really, most of us here think you deserve getting a gentle tap from our man here. Wouldn't you think so Ren?"

Ren firmly nodded, although Jaune knew that the silent boy was feeling strange about Nora's slang that she recently started using with others. This still didn't calm Cardin down, creating hostility to where Team Cardinal was on the rise in the case they were needed.

"Team Juniper and Cardinal, stand down." With a sigh, Goodwitch swung her wand in a wide arc. Purple energy forced both teams sit down and Cardin take forceful step backwards. Ensured she was in control, the teacher waved her weapon up at the two floating screens hovering near her.

"While I condemn unsanctioned matches, today may be appropriate for several of you to settle any unspoken matters. Upper classmen, you are all free to leave as the session involving the first-year students has begun."

After several bodies got up and walked out, Jaune noticed that Velvet and her team didn't move from their spot. Unsure why, he couldn't think further as Lou yelled at him to look forward. His face paled once he saw his face and Cardin's appear on the screens.

"Today is when we will see another match between Mr. Arc and Winchester." Walking to the arena's outside boundary, the teacher motioned for the mentioned teenagers to come down with her head. "Remember that this is a practice match. As long as the conditions for victory are met, any methods you use in this fight will be acceptable."

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A/N: So Jaune vs. Cardin…maybe. Because you never know what would happen in a story that's already taken standards to a differentlevel :3

And since Part 1 of the Jaune series is pretty long, would it be acceptable to put in a villain OC along the way? If this seems acceptable, the villain wouldn't have too much of a role, more end up making the canon characters have a better image.

Plus, thanks goes out to these readers:

Momijifan Low-Ki

StorSpeaker

antfig

Interested Third Party

Guests I wish they would make accounts (just a simple wish, but nothing to be negative about).


	4. Then and Now

Chapter 4: Then and Now

A/N: Enjoying the support, so the next chapter is up. If more people come in, then I might continue this on until Friday! Don't forget to comment, favorite, and/or follow if you haven't done so yet.

By the way, the fight in this chapter ended up a lot longer than planned. So it got split into one long part and a short one that's going appear in the next chapter.

Highlight: Avatar Aang's nickname and a blue hedgehog

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Standing on the arena, Jaune had his sword, Crocea Mors, in one hand while Lou was out of his shirt for all to see. Seeing Cardin standing ready on the other side wasn't the reason why he was filled with the doubt caused by something else.

" _Lou, mind telling me why you want me to fight with only one sword this way?"_

" **Practice. I'm going to teach you how to fight with some unusual ways. And for the love of all that is made of pixie Dust, please tell me your folks taught you about Luminessence."**

" _Lumi-what?"_ Jaune's head shook when Lou shouted inside his mind out of frustration. Wondering why, he placed both hands on the handle of his sword and waited for the signal of the battle's start.

As referee, Goodwitch stood outside the arena's outside boundaries. "Now remember you two, this match will continue until your Aura levels are depleted from the above screens. Understood?"

While Jaune nodded, he heard Cardin remark, "Of course. But before that, I'd like to say a few words, if you don't mind professor." Hearing this placed the boy on guard as his nemesis placed his mace onto shoulder.

"Jauney boy, I think you're getting a bit ahead of yourself. Do you really think taking down that Ursa Major the other day was all that great?" Chuckling, Cardin appeared much more of a d-bag than anyone was comfortable with. "It's fine that you play like you're a someone nowadays. I wonder if that attitude is going to make you also side with those animals."

"The Faunus?" Jaune didn't know why Cardin referred to the beast-kin with such a downgrading term. "I'm friends with several. Why wouldn't I side with good people?"

"Because they're freaks. Seriously, why do wimps like you forget that they're the losers who steal from your trash cans?" Cardin glanced at the Faunus in the seats, particularly Blake, Sun, and Velvet. "And when Humans gave them mercy, all they did was whine and complain about having less. Their worst reaction was making the White Fang that will get declawed if they keep wrecking properties."

Unsure why Cardin would express the stereotype so strongly, Jaune just shrugged his shoulders. "Well, not every one of them is that bad. Plus, they had their share of pain, so we could just leave it at that."

Cardin shook his head as if he was dealing with a naïve child. "Oh, Jauney boy. If only you were still my 'best buddy,' you could have been part of the bigger picture. Instead, you'd rather be on the side that's going to lose after the correction begins?"

"Correction? What correction?" With his peripherals, Jaune noticed that several people from the audience had their eyes leering at him. He wondered if this had something to do with Cardin's comment full of lacking content.

"Whatever. Just get ready for the pounding that your man can't save you from this time." Snickering, Cardin raised his mace with one hand. "Whoops, that's not the right thing to say without that dress of yours, right Twinkle Toes? And what, did she get you that necklace? Looks nice, a shiny collar given by your stronger master."

" **Agreeing with the dress, disagree with me and your stylish moves. With Twinkle Toes as a name, ladies might flock to ya since they'll think you have the moves. After that act of joy is when you polish up your dancing for later."**

Lou's comment mixed with criticism and support made Jaune feel somewhat at ease. It was all he had since his friends weren't allowed to interfere from their seats. However, he didn't appreciate how somehow implanted a sexual innuendo in the last part of his phrase.

"Now do remember, Mr. Winchester, that a real battle will not allow any 'trash talk' before it begins." Clearing her throat, Goodwitch swung her hand out and announced, "From now is an official match between Cardin Winchester and Jaune Arc. Victory will be given to the one who depletes the entire Aura bar of his opponent. Ready? You may begin!"

Cardin started off with a sprint, quickly closing distance. Aware of this, Jaune jumped away to dodge the incoming bull right as he corrected his stance per Pyrrha's teaching.

" **Okay, so Luminessence isn't just a fighting style, its a way of life that your ancestors made in the past."**

" _Are you still talking about that?"_ Replying to Lou almost made Jaune forget to bring up his sword. He barely did so to have his blade block the massive head of Cardin's mace.

" **Yeah cause you're going to need it. I'm not liking the history you have with this loser. Whoa, incoming."**

Lou's advice had Jaune dodge another strike from Cardin. Shuffling feet to maintain balance like he saw Ren do, he swung his sword to meet the mace head-on **.** Metallic clangs filled the air as both boys committed to the tempo of striking, parrying, and thrusting. Simply, one was fighting for dominance against the other even in this practice match.

To the shock of several, Jaune was doing better than before. To see him fight on par with Cardin was more progress than most expected. Only his friends weren't surprised as they knew, giving Yang the chance to hustle as she made bets with other students who believed more in Cardin.

" **Okay, so you're fighting okay to get some attention from the crowd. Not good enough though, so I'm just going to cram some new techniques into ya."**

A wave of nausea made Jaune stumble, a state that him vulnerable to the incoming mace. Thrown back by the strong hit, he quickly rolled and got up in the same manner Nora always showed him.

" _What just happened?"_ Jaune leapt back to dodge a head strike. " _Please tell me you're not setting me up to blow up a human being!"_

" **No way, this guy's practice for you. He's more classified as a meatbag in need of a lesson."** Lou's assurance made Jaune maintain his grip of both hands onto his weapon's handle. Strangely, he felt nothing too different aside from how his body felt lighter as if becoming filled with energy.

" **So I decided to add in your predecessors' skills, more of the ones you can manage."**

Hearing these words while he was still fighting, Jaune noticed something strange with his movements. Dodging and weaving past the fast mace strikes, he no longer had to block with his sword. Instead, he swung with each dodge to make the metal smack all over Cardin's body.

"Why can't you-."

Jaune ducked to dodge before he jumped up with an upward slash.

"-stop squirming!" Shouting, Cardin grabbed his weapon's shaft with both hands and struck down as he intended to break a skull. Jaune took one step forward to make the mace miss him by a thread's length and hit the ground instead.

Sword already pulled back at ready, Jaune felt incredible energy gather into his arm in one second. In another second, he swung hard to slam the entire blade into Cardin's body. Upon contact, Crocea Mors suddenly shined until an explosion engulfed the taller boy's entire body.

In smoke, Jane coughed and tried to wave the clouds away. When the clouds parted, he saw Cardin on the ground and moaning in pain. His brief relief was replaced by anxiety when his opponent got up to his feet.

" **Not a Luminous Shine, but it's a smaller version. Hey, he's getting up again!"**

Jaune saw Cardin raise his weapon high. Remembering this technique from Pyrrha's fight, the blonde retaliated by raising his own weapon. From an unknown instinct, Jaune hit the blade to the ground where his arm felt power surge into his weapon. A small wave of light came out to meet Cardin's made of earth, both elements colliding with a loud crash.

" **Now finish with Lumen Burst!"**

" _Stop giving me new skills!"_ Jaune's protest came too late as his shield shined before a blast of energy propelled its owner into the air like a cannonball. Flying, the blonde boy noticed he was heading straight for an unsuspecting Cardin.

Left with no choice, Jaune grabbed his sword with both hands. Again out of instinct, he flipped himself down to make his body spin forward in mid-air like Sonic. Moving faster, he got out of his ball so he could slam his blade straight into Cardin's gut, sending the bully backwards and into the ground.

Still moving due to momentum, Jaune landed with one knee while both hands had his sword in a tight grip. Coming to a stop, he breathed deep to keep himself calm as the pain in his knee and Cardin's shouting bothered him to no end.

When all was calm and the dust settled, Jaune stood up tall and looked at the screen in hopes that he won. His heart skipped a beat after he saw that his Aura bar was mostly full while Cardin's was as empty as his self-esteem.

" **Oh great, you won by a landslide."** Miraculously attached to Jaune's neck, Lou didn't sound very impressed. **"Big shocker when you have me as your all-powerful accessory. Mind thanking me?"**

As Jaune gave a simple, mental thanks, he heard a small applause coming from the witnesses. Goodwitch herself had a small smile as if approving the fight she had the pleasure of watching.

"Your performance does appear a bit odd. Compared to any students I've trained, none has ever improved as much as you." Walking to the space between the victor and loser, Goodwitch gave Jaune a good scan with a calm face. "While you will need the headmaster's examination, I believe you have earned this victory. Congratulations, Mr. Arc."

Jaune smiled as he received a comment from one of the stricter teachers of the school. Before he could say something, his hand suddenly went up and opened as a gesture for a handshake.

" **She's interested now. Hue hue, just got to seal the deal with some physical contact so you can check in this mature beauty some other time."**

Feeling heat in his face, Jaune noticed that Goodwitch looked at his open hand in wonder. For a moment, the boy believed he saw a ghost of a smile from the approaching teacher.

"I'm not sure of the reason, but I suppose this is alright." Slowly, Goodwitch rose her hand to where her slender fingers were about to make contact with Jaune's.

" **Wait, wait! Don't let her touch you! I made a mistake!"**

Lou's exclamation came right as both student and teacher's hands touched each other. A moment later, Goodwitch's body was covered in a light that grew until it blinded all eyes. Once the brightness died down, there was no sign of the teacher anywhere.

"… **Okay, I was fiddling and may have teleported her somewhere else."**

" _Exactly where?"_

" **Somewhere around here, I think. Your Aura output would have…probably taken her to the nearby waterfall."**

Jaune inwardly sighed as he realized the talking jewel did a terrible thing. Even worst was that he was going to become the one taking the responsibility for this mishap.

" **So friends are coming. Got your shield on your back? Good."**

Fire washed over the area Lou mentioned, making Jaune stumble forward in surprise. Actually glad he had his shield there, he turned around to find Russell standing in the arena with his Dust daggers in hand.

"I don't know what happened, but it's payback time for what you did." Standing beside Russell was Dove and Sky with their weapons in hands. Jaune glanced up to see that many of the students were even more shocked than he was by these turn of events.

" **Surprise, surprise, that lunkhead of a loser has friends to back him up. Hey, remember that fight Pyrrha had with them? Now it's your turn."**

Right then, Jaune knew that he was about to enter round two of this long battle. Trying to maintain a fearless face, he felt slightly dizzy right as the remaining members of Team Cardinal moved on to rush him with weapons raised.

* * *

A/N: Again, round two of a fight that may or may not be short as part of the real trouble is heading our hero's way.

Shout-out to:

code R.R

sgolek1

Benthino

TheFirstFoxx

garoorar

ZeroHuman


	5. Amazing Juniper

Chapter 5: Amazing Juniper

A/N: So as planned, this is going to be the last chapter for my five-day blitzkrieg. It's hard trying to write so much in the short amount of time I have.

Thank you all for your favorites, follows, and/or reviews in the past few days. Even as I try to upload two-three times by the next week and onwards, hope all of you will be able to come back and read.

Highlight: RWBY Shipping Names

* * *

Three fighters going up against one was never good odds for anyone. Strong ones like Pyrrha were the exception, so how could Jaune, her student, dream of achieving the same victory that she did?

" **Go low, arms up, keep that shield moving!"**

Jaune muted out Lou's commands as he focused on meeting Dove's sword strikes. Backing out of reach, he spun to kick away the rushing Sky. Mind on his shield, Jaune used what Lou called **Lumen Burst** to create a blast of energy that threw away Russell, who tried to hit him from behind.

So far, Jaune was holding his own in this three-way battle, partially thanks to his two-handed sword style and shield placed on his back. Although several hits came through to cause damage, the boy of wonder wasn't falling like most would have expected him to by this point. In fact, the faces on his enemies were implying that the boy held some kind of advantage over them.

" **So got used to it? Another thing about Luminessence is using your Aura to feel their energy and bodies coming in. This ability can alone make a nice alarm during your 'alone time' with your Scroll."**

" _What alone time?!"_ Jaune's distraction allowed Sky's lance to hit his side. He still managed to keep his feet on ground and slash away the blue-haired fighter. _"Wait, are you going through my head again?!"_

" **I was until I found this fanwiki page. Why do you have bookmarks on that Dust heiress being kinky with the reader?"**

Jaune's cough from this surprising reveal distracted him enough to have his body be hit by a stream of water. Pushing through the cold liquid, he eventually made it to Russel and slashed him away with a blast of light from Crocea Mors. With the daggers gone, the water stream stopped, leaving Jaune's body soaking wet. He didn't have a chance to rest as bullets riddled his body from behind. Shield clanking from blocking the projectiles, Jaune glanced over his shoulder to see Dove firing his gun-sword at him.

Having enough, Jaune grabbed his shield with one hand and spun his body around. With this momentum, he threw the triangular metal like a boomerang. Running after his shield that hit Dove, he jumped and grabbed his metallic protection while his sword in other hand came down. The flat end of the blade slammed on top of Dove's head, leaving the brunette in a daze.

After kicking away the dazed member of Cardinal, Jaune felt dizzy again, only on a greater scale. Hand on his mouth, he felt an inner, searing pain that made him think he was going to puke.

" **Hey, relax! You're almost there, just hold out until you're finished!"**

Jaune couldn't reply as Sky rammed a spear into his front. Forced backwards, his body was washed in wind and fire sent from Russell's Dust daggers. Stabbing sword into the ground to support himself, Jaune ended up falling to his knee. He looked up to see Dove rushing at him with sword raised at ready for a head strike.

" **Get up! I know it's my fault for pushing you, but you can't lose now or everyone won't think better of you!"**

Strangely, Jaune felt at peace even if he was about to lose. He won against Cardin and held his own against the three members of Cardinal. Losing after his success showed that Jaune really was getting stronger, even if some of that was thanks to Lou.

Yet, Jaune was never downed by the coup de grace as pink energy slammed into Dove to send him flying. The kneeling blonde saw that this was done by Nora, who pulled back her hammer. He also saw Ren use an Aura kick to send Sky to the ground while Pyrrha unleashed furious strikes against Russell with her sword.

All members of Team Juniper came to rescue their leader. With Goodwitch gone and Team Cardinal exacting revenge, they didn't see a need to hold back when the going was getting tough for Jaune.

"Sorry for the last-minute help." Nora presented a helping hand to her leader. "We thought you had it. I did, but I guess you're just not used to being this strong yet."

Jaune put away his shield on back before taking his friend's hand. "Yeah, I'll definitely remember that lesson." Getting up, he glanced at the boys of Cardinal and their seething gazes. "Can we end this fight right now? I don't think any more violence than this is necessary."

" **Uh, yeah it is. With all of you together, you can pound them into Dust and get rid of them the second time after they go through the planet's life cycle."**

Before Jaune could wonder the deeper meaning behind Lou's phrase, the entire floor suddenly shook with great force. Realizing they were in danger, Jaune yelled, "Run!" right as one part of the arena crumbled into pieces. This revealed a hole used by a black blur to come out and land on the rest of the intact ground.

"Is that a Grimm?!"

"Someone call a teacher!"

"Every man for himself!"

The remaining first-year students ran as the Grimm growled, its furry, cylindrical body settling down. Sniffing with a mask that lacked eye holes, the furry monster used its huge, clawed paws to swipe the air with caution. This mole-like Grimm's black nose eventually aimed at Team Cardinal carrying their unconscious leader out of the area.

Jaune noticed this and didn't hesitate to run forward with sword raised. After striking the Grimm, he retreated to dodge the clawed paws that tried to swat him away. As he gained the attention of the mole monster, he also noticed that his teammates gave him befuddled looks.

" **Dustamnit, doing that cause you have a hard-on for them would make more sense than thinking it's the right thing to do. Some master you're turning out to be."**

"Sorry, it just didn't seem right to leave them like that." Saying this more for his teammates, Jaune couldn't catch a break as Lou's mental tirade involved the most unpleasant words.

"We'll talk about this later. Taking care of this one comes first." Despite sounding sour, Pyrrha took her place near her leader while Ren stood at the other side. Getting ready to lead, Jaune shouted, "Alright, then let's start with Nora's Arc and Red Lotus, go!"

Smiling from Jaune's order for their combo attack, Nora ran with Magnhild's hammer form to slam it into the mole's head. When she rolled away to dodge a swipe from a claw, Ren and Pyrrha opened fire with their guns. Jaune charged with shield held in both hands and rammed it into the mole. He held his ground so the monster couldn't easily advance to take out the ones peppering its head with gunfire.

When the mole tried to take a bite out of Jaune's head, Nora shouldered her teammate away. The one pushed grabbed the pusher's hand so they both fell and avoided chomping teeth. Before the mole could crush the two with its feet, Pyrrha and Ren charged their guns with Aura before firing. As the bullets made contact, the projectiles forced the Grimm to take one step backwards and away from the fallen humans.

Jaune noticed that Nora was lying right on top of his armored chest. "You okay?"

"Yeah, so let's get up and finish this." Rising, Nora switched to her grenade launcher and shot out rounds to join the intense barrage. Jaune followed and tried to use the same sensation Lou gave him in his fight against Cardin. Feeling power in his sword arm, he swung down to make a wave of light shoot out from the stricken ground and straight into the mole's chest.

Screeching, the Grimm began to swing and kick in a wild rampage. Jaune raised his shield and shouted, "Arkos and Renora, let's finish this!"

After Pyrrha came to his side with her own shield, she and Jaune held their ground as the mole wildly struck their protections. At the right moment, both teenagers pushed to slam the clawed paws into the air.

In the Grimm's helpless state, Jaune and Pyrrha used fast swordplay to slash and cut the monster's body with fury. Using shields to block the incoming claws, the two worked well together in their dance of blades that came from their times of practice as partners. Soon, they parted to make way for Nora to shoot her grenades that met their mark.

Switching to hammer, Nora jumped in and pulled the trigger of her weapon. Her hammer exploded, making one end make a crushing impact into the mole's head. At the same time, Ren came in and slammed his Aura hand into the hammer's back to add more force into Nora's strike.

The simultaneous assault created a loud explosion right as the Grimm's head burst into many, black pieces. Headless, the remaining body felt to the ground and twitched several times before becoming still. Seeing his team victorious, Jaune gave his allies a thumbs-up as his way of saying 'good job.'

" **Wow, didn't see memories about your training with your team. Why aren't you showing something like this off to the rest of the school?!"**

" _Because we don't practice to be famous."_ Jaune glances at his teammates as they all turned to greet their incoming friends. " _We made them so we could protect each other, make it out alive together as a team."_

Expecting criticism, Jaune wasn't prepared to hear Lou say, **"True, you and your team have some good synergy going on. Can't deny that your folks also had something like that. Hey, is that Summer and Taiyang's kids? Where's Qrow, I have a score to settle with that emo punk."**

Jaune decided to focus on his friends as they all gathered around to talk about what happened. As he walked over, he noticed Sun and Neptune look his way.

"Hey loser, looks like you had a good fight." With his usual good nature, Sun patted Jaune on the shoulder while Neptune patted the other side to create a symmetrical image. "Got to say, you did good work against Cardin. And that correction thing? I guess you haven't heard of the news, did you?"

Jaune felt bashful, but worried that what Cardin said was indeed a thing. Before he could ask about it, he noticed Ruby walk over to the remains of the smoking, mole Grimm. Feeling cautious about the Grimm that infiltrated the school, he gently placed his hand up to have the boys let go before leaving to make sure his hooded friend had some kind of back up. On the way he heard Lou note, **"I don't think you noticed, but you're pretty tired, so don't do anything stupid."**

"We knew you guys could handle this, but it's still crazy how this happened." Ruby poked the black body slowly disappearing. "Shouldn't we be worried that more would pop out of the ground like it did? And where are the teachers?"

On cue, the ground shook more violently than it did the last time. Trying to maintain his balance like everyone else, Jaune saw the area under Ruby crumble at an alarming rate.

"Ruby!" Yang yelled as she tried to go after her sister. However, she was too far, leaving Jaune as the closest one to help his falling friend. He did just that by calling **Lumen Burst** that created a great burst of energy from the shield on his back. Launching fast like a rocket, he pushed Ruby away right as the hole fully formed to reveal another mole Grimm inside.

" **Jaune, I said don't do anything stupid!"**

Before Jaune could use another blast to get out, he suddenly felt his entire body grow limp and lifeless. Sight instantly darkening, he couldn't even move as he fell towards the Grimm's open mouth.

" **Get out of there kid! Jaune? Shit, Jaune!"**

Lou's cry was added by all of the others calling out his name. Still unable to stop his doom, Jaune felt his vision blur as he was passing out from exhaustion. The last thing he saw was a brown-haired person fall after him. Lacking energy to warn the person away, the doomed boy saw his world grow dark, leaving him scared of his incoming fate.

* * *

A/N: Oh no, Jaune is heading down a deep dark hole with something brown coming after him. Despite sounding dirty, I wonder what really would happen in a time like this.

Oh, and for anybody interested, Red Lotus was for the Pyrrha and Ren pairing while Nora's Arc was for Nora and Jaune. Not to say this will be a future plot…well, we'll see about that ;)

I usually give shout-out to notable readers, but this chapter will be more dedicated to the RWBY Universe for being a supportive group (especially to Ozpin):

Sadly, the links can't come up during this time, so just look up RWBY Universe in Google. Their Twitter and Facebook should come out along the way. Follow them since aside from me, they've been avid fans since the show's start.


	6. Cherished Warmth

Chapter 6: Cherished Warmth

Jaune felt his body float in nothing. Confused for a moment, he then remembered that he fell into a Grimm-made hole after saving Ruby's life. For someone who did a heroic thing, he managed to kill himself in the place of his friend.

"Nice guys finish last, huh Jaune? For your case, I guess you're too good for that kind of phrase."

Opening his eyes, the fallen boy realized he was inside a space full of darkness. That is, almost dark as there was something shining near him like a lamplight.

"Get up, lazy ass. I thought Pyrrha shaped you out of staying asleep during the worst of times."

The being of light kicked Jaune in his side. When that didn't work, it turned around, squatted, then farted something unsanitary. This encouraged the blonde boy to stand up with shaking arms. Dizzy from smell and lack of awareness, he mumbled, "W-what? What's happening?"

"Finally, wasn't willing to be your nanny for much longer. Now hurry up and get back out there. You don't belong in a place like this."

Jaune didn't understand the stranger's comment as he gazed around the realm of darkness. "But wait, where am I? Am I in…the afterlife that's for good people?"

"What, Nirvana or Heaven? Since when did those places look as dark as this? Wouldn't this be more Hell or Purgatory for someone like you?"

Hearing the question made Jaune put his hands onto his head out of panic. "What, really? Then why am I here? I was always trying to do good, even if I did a couple of bad things. I always tried to do the right things! Why do I deserve to be here?! "

The being of light smacked Jaune on his head. "Stupid, I could read your mind, remember? And even without it, a toddler can tell when you're screwing around."

"Sorry, I just didn't know how to approach this." Groaning in pain, Jaune lightly grinned as he was glad to have found a better idea of his situation. "So I'm really asleep. That's you, isn't it Lou?"

"Yeah, but that's not important. You're in a unique situation right now, so I suggest you get the hell out of here before you miss your chance." The human-shaped light known as Lou aimed a finger at a red and brown light shining from close range.

"What are those things?" Jaune noticed that his own body was turning into a bright color. "Oh, I guess I'm waking up now?"

"Yep, and take my advice. Just act cool when you're up." Lou sat down in Indian style right as Jaune's body reached its brightest yet. "I'll see you out there again to coach as usual. Maybe we'll get the chance to talk longer like this the next time."

Aside from the 'coach' comment, Jaune didn't mind seeing Lou in a better form than a necklace. Thinking of this had him realize that he wanted to know more of the entity, Lou, that he's only known for only a day. The necklace didn't even give any exact goals of why it chose him rather than go with his father.

When Jaune opened his eyes, his position had him realize he was lying on a soft bed inside a brown wood. With medicine cabinets lining the walls and white beds set in a row beside him, he knew this would have been one of the medical offices located in various parts of the school.

After his realization was when Jaune turned realized that his hand was warm. He saw the heat was coming from Pyrrha, who used both of her hands to cover his own. This same case happened for his other limb that involved a girl with brown rabbit ears. The bed-ridden boy remembered that the girl grabbing him was Velvet Scarlatina, an older student.

 **"So two girls holding your hands and trying to soothe your pain with their essence…seriously, what man wouldn't want a beauty to try and heal you with Aura?"**

Lou's chuckling didn't help Jaune decide on his next course of action. To his luck, he didn't have to hurry as the girls had their eyes closed as their way of concentrating while their Auras of brown and red covered his body.

 **"Since you're such a good boy trying not to push any boundaries, the only advice I can give is to make this a nice moment between you and Pyrrha. Don't focus much on this Velvet chick, not really interested in her."**

Jaune didn't understand what the comment about the Faunus girl was for. This didn't stop him from smiling as he enjoyed his current position. "H-hey, what's going on here?"

Both girls opened their eyes with their lips curving up into a smile. While Velvet's was gentle and small, Pyrrha had her own grow wide from joy before she wrapped her arms around her partner's body.

"You're awake." Words of relief had Pyrrha give the blushing Jaune a tighter hug that had their bodies make intimate contact. "I'm so glad you're okay. If Velvet didn't jump in to rescue you, then you would have come out with something worse than bruises."

"You rescued me?" Gently returning Pyrrha's hug, Jaune glanced over her shoulder to make eye contact with Velvet. "You didn't have to risk your life for me like that."

Maintaining her small, cute smile, Velvet had her bunny ears gently flap up and down. "I believe being fellow students of Beacon is enough." Letting go of Jaune's hand, the brown Faunus finished, "And after you've told Cardin your supportive views of my people… …I just think a kind person like you didn't deserve to suffer a bad fate."

"And she was even kind enough to stay and help me heal you up with Aura," Pyrrha said as she pulled back. "Everyone else came to see you too, but they left because of the time. Velvet insisted that she stayed until she was sure you regained consciousness."

Unknown to Jaune, Velvet was the brown blur that came after his unconscious body. With incredible athleticism, she was able to jump from wall to wall inside the hole until she grabbed Jaune and hauled him out of there. By then, the students held off the other Grimm long enough for the teachers to come and take care of the situation.

 **"Damn son, now a rabbit with arms and legs? I didn't even want her on the roster...okay, moving on. Now I think Pyrrha here would like it if you just-."**

"I didn't really do it for anyone's sake," Jaune said while trying to tune out Lou. "You can't say that I'm a nice person if people are just going to think I did it for payback, although Cardin doesn't deserve pity from people like us."

Although strange, Jaune felt what he said was right. Beating the bully back with brute force wasn't always considered a positive image. And even if witnesses might say otherwise, it was clear that Jaune wasn't fighting for the noble intentions that Velvet was implying.

It's this thought why Jaune didn't understand Velvet's giggling and Pyrrha's smile. "Is there something wrong?"

"N-no, I just didn't expect to hear something so honest." Calming down, Velvet's small laughter reminded Jaune of the golden bells that he would hear during holidays. "And to see you so humble about your fight shows a better person that most people should appreciate. If you were open like this, I wouldn't mind being friends with you."

Jaune felt the heat of embarrassment from listening to the kind compliment. Keeping eyes straight to hide his emotion, he watched Velvet get up from her seat and walk away while saying, "It's getting late; I should head back to my team. And no matter what you say, you did good today Jaune. Be proud of what you did."

When the Faunus was gone, Jaune replayed her last words in his head. Apparently, he just became friends with a person kind and thoughtful of his personality. Having trouble keeping down a goofy smile, he noticed Pyrrha turn her face away with a frown.

"Pyrrha? What's wrong?" Fearing he said something out of place, Jaune tried to place a hand on his friend's shoulder. When she pulled away, he felt hurt by this. "I did something wrong, didn't I. If I did, just let me know and I'll try to make it up to you."

"The cause is that attitude of yours." Taking a moment to pause, Pyrrha sighed while her bare shoulders relaxed from losing their tension. "But it's not wrong to be that way. I just wish you took a hint on how your kindness affects others at times."

While Jaune pondered on the meaning of this, he heard Lou sigh in the same manner Pyrrha did. **"She's right. Your Samaritan attitude is probably a chick magnet itself. What I hate is how your mother also manipulated you to not take the hints, that stupid-."**

Jaune cut out the last word so he wouldn't get angry at Lou for cursing his mother. _"Fine, tell me what I'm missing if it'll help make Pyrrha feel better."_

 **"Oh no, Romeo. Since you don't get it now, I just realized you finding out is going to ruin the magic that makes you 'you'…if that makes sense. Besides, Pyrrha doesn't look like she's going to treat you any different."**

Hearing this had Jaune look up to see Pyrrha's nervous expression. How she came to this emotion from her former anger confused the blonde teenager.

"The nurse said you could leave at any time" Pyrrha said with a hesitating tone. "Since you slept until evening, you could just eat the dinner I saved for you before heading to bed."

Jaune felt his heart skip a beat as he didn't know his partner did such a sweet thing for him. "That sounds nice. I'd like that, but…wait, it's still light outside." Glancing outside the far window to see orange light, he finished, "Isn't it a bit early?"

"Actually, we have to sleep soon because of a new curfew."

"Curfew?" Jaune knew there were bed times for the students. To have a sudden, strict standard was a bit unordinary. "Did something happen for the school to make one?"

"One reason might have been the Grimm attack. Then there was also how Professor Goodwitch was found swimming back to shore." Pyrrha bit her lip before she used a solemn tone to finish, "She didn't look happy at all."

Jaune glanced down at Lou only to hear the necklace whistling in his mind to feign innocence. "I'm going to pay for that, aren't I?"

"No, she told our team to have you checked up as soon as possible with the headmaster." Sounding curious, Pyrrha placed her elbow on leg and hand under chin to get into a Thinker pose. "Really, I didn't expect you to do so well. Those solo training sessions must have really been beneficial for you. Maybe you're finally at the stage where we can both exchange some pointers together."

 **"Alright, you're starting to look like a reliable person. And if she ever decides to become Mrs. Arc Number 1, I could help out by using one of my one hundred techniques, especially Skill 34."**

 _"Will you stop trying to think we can become anything like that?"_

 **"So it's impossible? After that dance, there's nothing between the two of you? Looking back is when you started thinking less of that heiress…she is still a contender, isn't she?"**

Jaune did an imaginary tight-lip that came from his inability to answer. He then noticed that his partner's fingers were fidgeting while she looked down at her legs.

"So…are we still sleeping together?" To Jaune's guilty delight, Pyrrha seemed to have her lips where they appeared full and held a deep color of blood. "I just want to make sure since you didn't seem all that comfortable with the idea."

For some reason, the idea sounded great even if there were still a lot unresolved. Some part of the boy wanted to ask if there was more going on, especially when he didn't have an idea of the 'correction' that Cardin and Sun mentioned earlier.

However, Jaune was tired and thinking a good night's sleep was what he needed to tackle any of the future issues. It's this incentive why got out of bed and stood in front of Pyrrha. "After all that's happened, I think going to bed is the best idea. Should we go?"

After Pyrrha nodded, the two teenagers left the room together. Along the way back to their dorm, Jaune heard Lou cackle, **"You sly dog, making excuses just to be with her. Now, in what position will you be using tonight in bed, Jaune?"**

* * *

Breathing deep, Jaune felt the same warmth from yesterday surround his entire body. Quickly opening his eyes, he saw that Pyrrha was hugging him again as they were both under the covers of their bed. To see this for the second time in the morning had the boy wonder if it was okay for the two to be like this.

 **"Morning hero,"** Lou said with a happy tone. **"Not my fault this time, but it looks like you two are nice and comfy by this time around. My gods and goddesses, you wouldn't believe where your hands were from time to time."**

Jaune silently groaned at the same time Pyrrha came closer as her grip tightened. When he resisted, he saw that his sleeping bedmate slightly whimpered like an abandoned puppy.

 **"Come on, it can't be that bad, you ungrateful brat. Taking what you get is my next lesson for ya! Live life like a man; stop being such a wimp!"**

For once, Jaune didn't feel the need to disagree as Pyrrha's hug, even company, gave him a new form of happiness. Feeling bold, he scooted close and pulled his partner's head closer to his chest. He felt happy to feel his bedmate unconsciously snuggle closer with a smile.

 **"Feels nice, doesn't it?"** Lou sighed as if he was sharing the same joy Jaune was having at the moment. **"Now if only you could take the next step. I guess you'll need to grow up a bit before that. Maybe you should go after that party girl. What was her name, Yang? She's definitely been on more than one rodeos."**

This was when Jaune felt the need to protest. Yet, he couldn't as he was distracted by something hard that hit the room's floor. Taking off the covers on his head, he noticed on the ground was a gray sphere blinking red.

 **"Yeah, that's a grenade. Just return the ball back to those assholes, Jaune."**

Lou's calm comment had Jaune quickly pull Pyrrha off before jumping out of bed. On the floor, he picked up the grenade and threw it out of the room. Grabbing his nearby shield with pjs on, he ran towards the door to close it and brace his shield against it right as the sound of popping confetti blew up in the hallway.

Even if the ordinance was harmless, it still would have caused some kind of discomfort. This was apparent as loud shouting and moaning came from outside. Quickly, Jaune peered out to see people in white and gray uniforms turn the corner of the hallway with cringing movements. Feeling wary of this, he noticed Ren and Nora run up from the other side of the hallway.

"Guys? Did you see that?!"

"Yeah Jaune, we did!" Nora exclaimed. Jaune noticed that the topless Ren came with Nora from the same, unknown location. "Oh crap, it looks like it what's happening in the city really did start to affect Beacon."

"The city? What's happening over there?" Jaune saw Nora give their dorm room a cross face.

"She didn't tell you, did she," Nora sighed right as Pyrrha came out of the room. Jaune looked at his partner to see her guilty expression. Feeling he needed to hear it from her, he asked, "Pyrrha, what's Nora talking about?"

"A rumor that is becoming too real for our Kingdom." In her red tank top and white shorts, Pyrrha sighed as she closed her eyes to think. "After that attack in the city, the White Fang was found to be the culprits for the Grimm's arrival. Precautions for this involved Atlas's military having a presence within the city of Vale."

Jaune didn't feel safe to hear this, more anxious of the situation. Nora seemed to have the same feeling as she added, "Yeah, and we just found out that more of those military guys are going to come over soon. It looks like they're going to start running things around here with the same things they're doing in the city."

The blonde leader feared the worst as he already had an idea of what Atlas's military was going to do. Pyrrha confirmed this by stating, "Then they're going to restrict the freedom of the Faunus. I can't believe it, they're really going to blame the entire populace rather than stop the organization causing this? Why isn't the Council stopping this?"

"That's the thing, Pyrrha. They're the ones who are going to let General Ironwood and his students become involved with those activities." With his bullshit-lacking tone, Ren crossed his arms with a grimace that infected the faces of his teammates. "It looks like what you and Jaune experienced is one of the many things to come too. I suggest we get ready for the other things that may happen soon."

* * *

A/N: So…that happened. Remember the end of Volume 2? Hopefully, this won't become too AU for the future volume. If it does, I'll just keep it this way since we're already reaching a good plot point to go off of.

And don't fret. We're going to see in greater detail why the Atlas students attacked Jaune like that, even if the intention to kill wasn't involved.

And last week's habit didn't change. Here's the shout-out to these people:

PokemonTrainer4700

StudiousReader

joae12

k wolf omega

The95will

kash890

Ricc850

LoveGlutton

Tommy2486

The10thDoctor1964

dracohalo117

Tommy2486


	7. Fame and Infamy

Chapter 7: Fame and Infamy

A/N: Just to note, I edited the last chapter since even I knew there were some confusing parts. Not the best, but still a lot better than before.

Please also don't forget to favorite, follow, and/or comment.

Highlight: Avenger's Motto

* * *

"I'm sorry for not telling you Jaune. You were tired and at the time, I didn't believe events were going to escalate so quickly."

Jaune nodded as he and Pyrrha walked through the hallways in their normal, battle wear. Clinking in his white armor, he replied, "And I don't blame you. It's just weird that something like this happened in a few days. Are people really going to place the Faunus in that kind of position again?"

"When they're scared of more disasters like the one from before, a reaction like this is bound to happen." Sounding sad as her leader, Pyrrha stopped with Jaune in front of Ozpin's office, their desired destination. Raising hand to present the door like a prize, she said, "Well, here it is. Are you going to be fine by yourself, Jaune? We can always go in together, even ask the headmaster for more details on what is happening."

"I'll be alright," the boy answered. "It's just a checkup on how my body is. Nothing that bad…unless Goodwitch is here."

" **She is. Used Skill 5 to scan the area with a bit of your Aura. A pain in the ass, but it's worth it as I can tell you there's not much to be worried about."**

Taking Lou for its word, Jaune just waved at Pyrrha as she left to leave her partner to his task. After taking a deep breath, he slowly opened the door to find an unexpected surprise.

"Hey, the man of the hour rises from the grave." Sun waved his hand from his standing position. "Yo, feeling better? You must be tired if you passed out from fighting so awesome the other day."

Jaune nodded as he saw the monkey stand next to Coco, who had her glasses down to get a better view. At the other side was Ruby giving Jaune a nervous wave of hello. All three students were standing in front of the desk occupied by Ozpin with Goodwitch at his side.

"H-hey everyone, Professor Goodwitch." Jaune inwardly yelped when theblonde teacher glared at him. "I'm here for my checkup, but it looks like everyone is pretty busy, so I'll come back later."

Before the blonde could leave, he saw Ozpin shake his head. "Actually, Jaune, I'm inviting you to stay. Some of us here were considering I call you so you may participate in this meeting."

"Me?" Jaune asked as he pointed a finger at himself. "Why?"

"Because you participated in defending Vale as the leader of your team and may have stumbled onto a difficult position. With these facts in mind, I implore that you stay for the sake of future events." Ozpin's tone held a hint of professional urgency. It made Jaune close the door and take his place between Sun and Ruby.

"Hey, thanks for rescuing me the other day," Ruby whispered. Jaune simply nodded with a smile as he was glad to see his friend was fine.

" **Ooh, Summer's kid is looking cute. And since she's a half-sister, you're allowed to go after both her and Yang. Their dad probably told them it's okay for guys like him to have two mommies, that player."**

Jaune felt sick to hear Lou laugh at its dark joke about justified adultery that may not even be true. Regaining focus, he noticed that the room became silent and tense as Professor Ozpin stood out of his chair.

After taking a sip from his cup in hand, Ozpin began, "Now, all four of you were asked to come because some disturbing changes have been ongoing in the city and school."

"Yes, we do have the idiots from Atlas making a riot with those stupid confetti bombs of theirs. Talk about a waste of time using their know-how on tech." Coco placed her glasses back on while she tapped one heel on the ground from annoyance. "Can you believe they tried to roll one of those things into my team's dorm? We were lucky Fox threw the thing out of the room before it popped someone's eardrum."

" **If those nerds were so smart, then they wouldn't have put a dumb timer on that pitiful party ball in the first place."**

Jaune mentally agreed as Lou made a logical point. He also noticed Sun glance over his way for some reason.

"Yeah, the same thing happened to my dorm. It was so much worse than Weiss's alarm clock." Ruby shuddered, a sign that she and her team has fallen victim to the confetti balls unlike the other teams. "Why did they do this to our room and the others? It's pretty rude for them to do something like that in the first place."

"Retaliation against the teams that have Faunus for team members." Ozpin finished his walk around the desk. Jaune felt more attentive as the headmaster was closer to solidify presence and eye contact. "And yes, this may sound immature for Atlas students, but they are still teenagers nonetheless. Their own headmaster, General Ironwood, is taking the steps to discipline them for such unacceptable behavior."

Jaune frowned at this news as he knew this didn't solve the real issue. He noticed Ruby and Sun recreate his own expression while Coco simply checked her nails with a calm demeanor. In need of answers, he said, "I've heard Atlas is handling the Faunus in both the city and Beacon. Is a fighting force from another Kingdom really allowed to do this kind of thing?"

"It is since the Vytal Festival's approach is taken into account." Ozpin set down his cup while his other hand held onto his cane. "As all Kingdoms are to come together in what is to be a joyous occasion, security matters would go to those who hold the best qualifications. Since our current number of Huntsmen is unable to assemble, the present military force is considered more reliable along with those who command them."

"Even if it means hurting the Faunus?" With a soft, quiet voice, Ruby asked, "Do we really have to treat them in such a terrible way? This all seems wrong."

"Whether such actions are right or wrong, I cannot say. So much has happened to where the oppressors and oppressed cannot be entirely righteous." Speaking with a strong tone laced with assurance, the headmaster's frown melted into a small smile. "But this is all a temporary measure. Finding the White Fang, masterminds, or seeing a peaceful passing of the Vytal Festival are conditions that must occur before the city will find freedom for all of its residents once again. Until then, we can only ask for everyone to be patient as waiting appears to be the safest choice."

Jaune heard Sun huff in frustration, a reaction understood to be coming from a descendent of the species in question. He saw Ruby cross her arms and slightly whine, "We can't go on a mission to take care of the bad guys? If we can find them, then that means everything will go back to normal faster."

" **Finally, someone says something interesting. Jump on board her train, Jaune!"**

"No, not this time, Ruby." Ozpin shook his head to place emphasis on his decision, which made Lou scream inside Jaune's head out of frustration. "To be frank, my position will have little effect in these matters. That means any student of Beacon that acts out of line may not get away with a simple warning, especially when the Normal Coalition is around to keep tabs. I even believe the participants of this morning's disturbances would be members of this small society."

The term, Normal Coalition, had the others form faces of discomfort. Even for the calm Coco, she lightly groaned as a hand went up to her forehead. "Don't tell me that club is actually going to come together. I thought it would only take a few of them to use Ironwood as their panic button if they're up to no good again."

"Nope, they're also spreading lies about how Faunus are the real evil in Vale." Sun cracked his knuckles to show his growing anger. "It was funny at first, but I can't ignore this anymore if people like them are starting to get together. I don't care if people say their 'corrections' are what the people need. They should all just bitch to a therapist, not at the helpless folks of my kind."

Jaune noticed Ruby's eyes widened at Sun's use of language. Jaune was also shocked, even if he understood that the monkey did it out of anger.

"I'm afraid General Ironwood has given his consent. For him to make a decision does seem strange as he should be aware of the repercussions." Ozpin had a hand under chin that showed he was really thinking about a case he couldn't decipher, despite coming from a fellow headmaster.

To see Ozpin, a respected headmaster and reliable councilor, in his confused state worried the students, especially Jaune.

"Perhaps it's good to find ask of that in my next meeting with the General. For the sake of having all of you reach your classes in time, I will say now that all of you were asked to come here so I may give each of you new responsibilities."

Jaune exchanged glances with Ruby and Sun before he looked forward and asked, "Responsibilities? What kind of responsibilities?"

"The ones I believe will be handled well by the leaders who have led their teams into battle the other day." As Ozpin gave a suspicious smirk, he corrected, "However, these are not missions, more in the nature of favors due to our unique circumstance. As such, all of you are free to decide if your team will become involved in what I have in mind."

" **Sounds like he's trying to butter you kids up…he has me sold. Accept it, Jaune. Getting permission will mean he's got to have your back in some way. It'll be nice if you're ever going to get things done as a hero."**

Jaune nodded not just for Lou, but to show the others he was willing to listen. "What can we do to help?"

"An appreciative response, Mr. Arc," Ozpin said. "For starters, I would like for Team Sun to keep an eye on the students, especially the Faunus. Team Ruby should maintain a close watch of the city as all of you have always come up with interesting results. Ms. Adel, I have noticed Team Coffee has accepted missions outside of the city. Take the time to see any unusual behavior that may be out of society's range of awareness."

While heads nodded to show acceptance, Coco said, "Sure, we can do that. We're not really leaving until later, so we'll also lend a hand here if it's needed." Pulling glasses down to have her eyes revealed, she finished, "Now, I'm kind of curious as to see how our actions are going to avoid getting into trouble by the General and his group."

"Why, Ms. Adel, I believe a favor asked by the headmaster will give you some leeway in handling matters. A simple signature may even help all of you reach destinations thought to be impossible in these times." The listeners could have sworn that Ozpin had a small, mischievous glint in his eye. Lou seemed to notice as he told Jaune, **"That beautiful bastard is giving all of you a chance to become heroes. Get ready Jaune cause we're…wait, why didn't he give us an assignment?"**

Just as Jaune wondered the same thought, Ozpin motioned his head towards the doorway. "Everyone but Mr. Arc is to leave. That would include you, Professor Goodwitch." The gray-haired elder gave his colleague a stern gaze to show he was serious.

"By the way, love your necklace. What designer made something this beautiful?" Jaune turned to see Coco walking up to him so she could have her hand raise Lou's jewel form. The boy felt nervous as the brunette's lavender aroma invaded his senses from her close distance.

Keeping focus, Jaune said, "It's a family heirloom. I don't think you can get it anywhere else."

"Really? Damnit, I was hoping there was a jewelry shop that could replace the store that was trashed a while back." Coco sighed as she let go before leaving. "If you ever feel like putting that up for auction, just let me know, okay?"

" **Ooh, keep that offer in mind. Forgot that women like the pretty things. Jaune, we're going to make you rich at some point in time so your variety of female cast can reach a new girth…tee hee, weenie joke."**

Jaune inwardly sighed as he waved his hand to say goodbye to Sun and Ruby going through the main entrance. When he saw Goodwitch about to make her own exit, he said, "Professor, I'm really sorry for the other day. I'll fix myself so you'll never have to go through something like that again."

The addressed woman stopped at the doorway as her eyes gave Jaune a curious gaze. After Goodwitch adjusted her glasses with one hand, she replied, "You have done nothing wrong, young man. We all understand you're still new to your control over Aura. Yet, if you are eager to prove yourself, show it to me in the next practice match."

As Jaune nodded while Goodwtich left, he heard Lou cackle, **"Aww, so sweet. An ambitious student wants to impress his teacher, who is already flattered by his concern for her well-being. Well, she does look like the old-fashioned type. She'll be a work-in-progress along the way."**

"Now what meaning would such a comment entail? Would you care to elaborate on that?"

Jaune jumped while Lou mentally shrieked as they heard Ozpin literally speak to interact with the telepathic jewel.

" **Y-you can hear me?!"**

"Why yes, although it is interesting to note how you have an interesting vocabulary compare to the others in this school. Honestly, how on earth have you found a lifeform such as this one, Jaune?" Ozpin went back to his desk's chair to take a seat. Looking up with hands clasped together, the headmaster gave Jaune his full attention.

Staying silent for a moment, Jaune finally took the hint of how Ozpin was waiting for an answer. Seeing no reason to lie, he replied, "I'm not exactly sure since our meeting was pretty random. It calls itself Lou, something that told me it's a heirloom of my family."

"That's strange. Your family has never mentioned something like this." As a man who had some ties with past fighters, Ozpin pointed at Lou's necklace form. "Is it possible for it to speak out loud? While telepathic exchanges are interesting, it still requires a good concentration of Aura to keep up with."

"Oh, so that's how you found out. You're pretty sharp for an old man compared to a wound up broad like Goodwitch." Speaking out loud for the first time since the rooftop, Lou unhooked its string so it could float off of Jaune's neck and fly into a comfortable view. "Yeah, communicating like that uses up some Aura. Just thought it was more convenient since a talking rock like me tends to make people think otherwise. Plus, it helps as I'm trying to be Jaune's wingman here."

Ozpin chuckled at Lou's comment. "Wingman? My, the younger generations do tend to liberate themselves from the old ways. Has he been making any progress so far?"

"Getting stronger? Yeah. Getting girls? Eh, there's progress." Lou shook itself as if it was a hand making the 'so-and-so' motion. Jaune was more surprised to see how the talking necklace and Ozpin could converse like this.

"So Lou, will we have a pleasure of an introduction? Because if you have been helping Jaune, then we may need to discuss how we will be taking care of him from this point on." After Lou nodded its pointy body, Ozpin leaned back in his chair as if preparing for a lengthy conversation.

Confused, Jaune stood up straight in an attempt to look attentive amongst the mature figuers. "Take care of? Is something going to happen to me?"

"I'm afraid so," Ozpin answered with a solemn nod. "As you know, members of the Normal Coalition are sensitive about others who ally themselves with the Faunus. This morning's retaliation may be the least of what we are to expect from them, especially when Team Cardinal is most likely to join them."

Feeling vulnerable from hearing the news, Jaune had to ask, "Would…they probably have something like a hit list?" Switching gears the last minute, he nervously laughed, "Well, that's probably ridiculous. I mean, they wouldn't go so far as to lynch me, right? I didn't even do anything to them."

"No, the situation is quite different based on the attention you have garnered from yesterday's battle. Perhaps this video will help give the right idea." Ozpin raised his Scroll to where Jaune could see the screen. The blonde saw a video of yesterday's battle playing on it.

"Jaune Arc, the Boy Wonder." Reading the title, the boy glanced at the descriptions typed below. "Leader of Juniper annihilates the bully of Cardinal. A hero to victims, the oppressed Faunus." Shaking his head, Jaune looked up at Ozpin and stated, "This can't be the reason why they would think I'm a problem, right? Cardin bullies not just Faunus, but everyone else."

Ozpin leaned over to tap a screen that was minimized at the bottom of the Scroll. From there appeared another video titled, "Jaune, Hero of All." This media replayed the quotes that Jaune gave about his views on the Faunus to Cardin. Unlike the last one, the comments below were full of praises, curses, and heated discussions.

"For the best or worst, people have decided to make you a symbol of sorts. By the process of propaganda, you now have the school believe you're sided with the Faunus and opposing the Normal Coalition." The headmaster shook his head in an apologetic manner. "I'm sorry, Jaune. This only happened because the timing was too perfect with Atlas's start of their occupation. When people are looking for sides to pick, they look for strong figures that would represent each side. You, Jaune Arc, are now considered a hero of faunus and enemy of the growing Normal Coalition."

By this time, the boy of attention had his jaw slack, making his mouth open wide in shock. He didn't even react to Lou's budging against his shoulder.

"Kid? Hey, Jaune. Snap out of it. This is a good thing." Lou floated in front of its owner's face while its body showed a small, white glow. "Get it? This is fame right here. All the lovely Faunus in this school now have their eyes on you. And when you're beating those normies' asses, the Human side of females will fall in line. This is a chance in a lifetime; get ready to rock their world, hero.

Jaune answered by groaning out loud while his hands went to his face. He preferred taking suspension, especially if would help him avoid anybody that is now trying to get him. He also shuddered to think of the other aces in the school that will eventually become his enemy on their own.

* * *

A/N: To sum it up, people forced Jaune into his position. If Atlas's occupation didn't happen, people would have been more interested in how he's become a lot stronger in a short amount of time.

Hopefully, this still makes sense. If not, always happy to clarify as much as possible.

And to note, since I'm going to get busy, the next chapter for this might not come out until this Saturday or next Monday. Hope you guys can come back until then.


	8. Illumination

Chapter 8: Illumination

A/N: Hey everyone. Here's the next chapter. Please remember to follow and favorite. If scheduling goes as planned, then expect a new chapter by this Friday.

Reference: Spock (such a corny one too)

* * *

While Lou and Ozpin made small talk amongst each other, Jaune watched the Scroll in his hands replay his fight with Team Cardinal. Despite one part of him enjoying this video, the lad of light was also worried of how he became a targeted enemy of the Normal Coalition.

"Jaune, smile. As an upcoming hero, you should look more lax for your future challenges." Floating over Ozpin's desk, Lou spun around like a top out of boredom and annoyance from its master's attitude. "Instead of looking like a coward, have a brave face or you can ruin the flow of how things go from here on."

"Somewhat crude, but Lou has a point." Adding his input, Ozpin placed his hands together to make the stance he always used to make decisions. "Despite your forced position, your choices will have more weight on future situations than before. From now until the end of this matter, you will have to be considerate of those in and outside the team you lead."

Jaune felt his spirit spiral down into the void of depression. One day of fame placed him in a predicament no ordinary student could ever prepare for. He then remembered that he wasn't ordinary as he had his family heirloom come into his life and become the catalyst for his status as a revolutionary symbol.

"I'll take that more as a compliment." Lou had its jeweled body shine in Jaune's direction. "Remember? I could still read your mind with our connection. Ozpin picked up on that with his use of energy." Looking at the headmaster, Lou sounded nervous while asking, "Are you always going to listen on our conversations? It'd be nice if you don't do it so often."

"That remains to be seen." Ozpin had a smile that made Jaune felt aware of due to its mysterious nature. "But back to our original conversation, would you like to explain what you exactly are, Lou? I'm sure your owner would also like to know how you will become his power in the future."

Lou hummed a curious tone to show he was in deep thought. "Yeah, probably should. Jaune's been raising so much hell that we never did have a chance to talk about the causes for the effects."

Clearing a throat invisible to the eye, Lou floated around the air as if he was walking like a speaker during a presentation. "Putting all the technical bullshit aside, I was handed down through the long line of Arcs so they could store their abilities into me. This leaves all of their descendants the spoiled leisure of gaining those skills that will never remain lost as long as I'm around."

"So you're like an inheritance?" Jaune asked. "Does that kind of process involve Aura?"

"Kid, I'm your power by birthright. Don't make me sound like a dirty piece of lien." Somewhat annoyed, Lou still continued, "And sure, it's more like Aura is used to extract the powers from my body and insert them into you, whether it be mind or genes. This is made possible by the process your ancestors just shoved down my throat when making me."

"But I assume such powers would require training in order to control them. Is that right Lou?"

"Yeah because I can't always make the call for Jaune here." After answering Ozpin, the floating necklace snickered, "And sure, I'll take the blame for Goodwitch's fall into the outside lake. One example that most of the skills will need practice before it can be used in perfection."

Jaune glared at Lou as he was reminded of his fear from the probable case where Goodwitch would have cast indignant punishment for the rest of his days.

"So anyhoo, does that make sense?" Trying to move on, Lou continued, "You can call me your database full of gimmicks or the Arc hand-me-down. I'd prefer to be known as the key to your true potential." The necklace moved closer to Jaune with excitement laced in words. "You were meant to be great like your past bloodlines, each leaders or fighters of the highest caliber. With me, you can achieve so much more with the entire Arc lineage in your possession. In time, you can even utilize Luminessence in all its glory!"

Jaune could tell that Lou was really excited that he was on the path of greatness. He still had a hard time believing that he even had any potential to become one of the people Lou mentioned. Yet in this moment of dreams and hope, the blonde teenager didn't expect the headmaster to be chuckling out of amusement.

"Excuse me, but you will be taking Jaune on the path of Luminessence?" Back to a calm state, Ozpin still maintained a light tone in his voice. "I see, so were involved with the One Hero, Galbinus Luminary."

"You can say that, but are you going to tell Jaune about him? Cause that's really nothing the kid needs to hear about right now." While Lou said this, its owner felt dread for why the mention of an unknown figure had to be void of any explanation.

"No, no, as I'm sure you have your reasons," Ozpin answered while shaking his head. "There will be no breach in the trust between us. In exchange for keeping your existence a secret, I will accept your intentions to guide Jaune will create an outcome favorable for the needs of the many."

For a moment, Lou remained silent in mid-air. It suddenly spun around in a circle before exclaiming, "You're damn right I'm going to do that! And when Jaune is famous and rich, we're going to bring this back to Beacon, maybe get you a nice retirement for being such a cool guy."

"Retirement is never an option for me, but I appreciate your considerate thought, Lou." When the headmaster smiled, Jaune realized that he witnessed two experienced figures find ground on friendly terms.

"With this, do you feel confident of how you will face your future challenges, Jaune Arc?" Voice refined with authority, Ozpin placed his attention on the leader of Team Juniper. "As you know by now, the conflict taking place in this school and the city will not present a happy ending that many will expect."

Immediately, Jaune knew how to answer the headmaster. He did it after he remembered everything he experienced from his one semester in Beacon. When he remembered his and Ruby's conversation from before, he answered, "I'll continue do my best to succeed. When I'm still the leader of my team and have friends in danger, failure is one option I won't allow at any time of my life."

"Hell yeah, we're going to win it all so everyone will gain it all. Seriously, a hero is supposed to gain the goods once everyone else finds happiness too." Lou placed its string back over Jaune's head so the necklace's jewel can settle near the top of Jane's chest plate. "So, what role do you think is going to need my man and his crew at?"

"There is no exact purpose in mind as the problems may come to you rather than remain hidden." Ozpin reached for his Scroll on the part of his desk that Jaune placed it on a while ago. "So rather than seek, it's better for you to wait until the time for action comes along."

While Jaune nodded, Lou spoke, "So the storm is heading our way, huh? Sounds good. We'll keep a lookout for those things. Come on Jaune, let's get out and be ready. Maybe get some training in since you still need to get in touch with **Luminous Shine** and **Lumen Burst.** "

"Before you go, there are three factors you two need to be aware of," Ozpin said before Jaune could leave. "One is that the leader of the Normal Coalition has been chosen. He is known to be one of the General's few assistances. Take caution as he is also…infamous for his eccentric behavior."

In his mind, Jaune saw a huge man that had robotic limbs. This picture came from knowing how Ironwood was a huge promoter of using technology, most cases involving the weapons of the Atlesian Knight brand.

"The second is how the investigation for the recent Grimm attack has not been resolved." With a dark face, Ozpin added, "And when there is no trail leading back to where the monsters from those holes might have come from, there is the suspicion that a third party has been involved, so be careful."

"No need to worry, Ozpin. The two of us can handle anything that comes our way." Lou spoke with the same confidence that Jaune began to have as the feeling was infectious. "So bring on the third piece and we'll be on our way into the storm."

"Be fair to those around you, Jaune. The path of Luminessence is one that will force you to make the most difficult decisions concerning long-term effects." In a serene state, the headmaster had his cup of joe back in hand. "And while society may condemn such a practice, perhaps you will be one of the few to have ever achieved it just as your predecessor, Galbinus, has done."

* * *

" _Okay, you need to talk. What did the headmaster mean by that?!"_

After saying his farewell to Ozpin, Jaune walked down the hall back to his class that should be in session by now. Despite receiving different stares from passing students, he was more concerned of the facts that Lou has yet to give him regarding Luminessence.

Back to using telepathy, Lou replied, **"What? That thing about Luminessence? I dunno, don't ask me what Ozpin meant by that. He probably knows more than me."**

" _Liar, you're the one who introduced it in the first place. And when you were involved with an ancestor who followed the practice, I think you would have the answer for why the headmaster said something like that in the first place!"_ Frustrated, Jaune continued walking in his heated pace. His downcast eyes made those who saw him move away rather than risk setting off the boy into a random fit of rage.

" **Look, that's not important right now. Since Ozpin made it clear that he didn't want to give us a specific mission, we'll just place ourselves in the likely places of trouble will come to us. See how I'm working around that logic?"**

Lou made a snapping noise inside Jaune's head as if it snapped two fingers together. **"And it looks like there's a good amount of trouble coming from the city. Let's take a visit over there later, maybe get some downtime with Ruby. Have some fun with Blake, Yang, and…nice, Weiss is on that team too?"**

Before Jaune could protest against this idea, he noticed the sound of weapons clanging in the distance. Realizing he couldn't hear it because of his mental conversation with Lou, he felt hesitant to approach the conflict that happened to be on the path to his intended destination. When he saw students heading to that location, he placed an arm out to stop one and ask, "What's happening over there? Where's everyone going?"

"There's a fight between a Faunus and someone from the Normal Coalition." Gently nudging Jaune's hand off of his shoulder, the guy aimed a finger ahead of him. "Gonna go watch before the fight is over. If you hurry, you might get a piece of the action too."

Hearing this news left Jaune frozen on the spot. To hear a skirmish already starting between the oppressed and oppressor left him unsure of how to proceed. Should he get involved and fight for the side people have labeled him as? He never did accept the role, only be asked by Ozpin to face the challenges with his best judgment.

" **Come on, it's time to go! Fight for the Faunus, become hero of the day!"**

Despite his objections, Jaune still made his way to the area of attention. He made up his mind that if there was a fight, the most he could do was call a teacher like most, sensible students would do to settle a fight between students. He tried to think of other ideas while approaching the crowd gathering near the outside of a hallway.

"Hey, is that a bunny girl?"

"Ha, that human is protecting her. What a loser, can't beat the best of the Normal Coalition."

Hearing these words had Jaune panic to where he squeezed through the group of bodies. Making his way to the front, he eventually saw the sight that made fireworks go off in his head.

In one of Beacon's long hallways full of windows stood a huge male in green armor, the one Jaune recognized to be Yatsuhashi. Behind him was Velvet, the Faunus whose head trailed a long, line of blood from forehead to chin.

Feeling angry at the sight of his injured friend, Jaune veered his attention to the opposite side of the area. His eyes widened to see that the opposition was unlike anything he's ever seen before.

On the ground were the unconscious bodies of students in white and gray uniforms. Way back were teenagers in the same attire with weapons at ready and eyes forward. The reason why none of them moved on to attack was because two, lone figures stood ahead of them, the only fighters fearless enough to be on the front lines.

One stood with short, orange hair that had a pink bow tied in the back. With bright, green eyes, the girl had an old-fashioned dress of a lighter color. With a black and green collar, the girl appeared robotic in some manner although most witnesses still couldn't see it. Already introduced to several, most have called her Penny, the first synthetic lifeform made from metal.

Standing next to this girl was a taller boy. Unlike his counterparts, the older teenager wore a silver coat that had only its collar straps tied to keep the clothing attached and flow out like a cape. Underneath were shirts and pants covered in black armor. With his black spiky hair, this newcomer could have been mistaken for a younger, wilder version of James Ironwood. His narrowed, serious eyes could have even mistaken him as a possible relative.

These two figures standing on what was obviously the side of the Normal Coalition unnerved Jaune. He could tell they were enough to keep two, second-year students at bay and create this current standoff. And seeing they were about to continue fighting had Jaune reach for his Scroll to hurry and make the call to a nearby teacher.

" **Come on, don't do that. Just get in there and join the fight with Yatsushi and…that Velvet chick."**

"Well, well, if it ain't Jauney boy."

The familiar voice had Jaune see both of his arms get grabbed by Russell and Dove. Before he could retaliate, Sky came from behind and snapped two handcuffs onto Jaune's waists. Feeling weak, the restrained boy could hardly move as he saw Cardin push the people in his way while approaching him.

" **Null Stone?! Damn…pussies."**

Just as Jaune heard Lou become quiet and his Aura weaken, he couldn't stop the fist that Cardin threw at him to make a heavy impact at the stomach. Keeling over, the blonde boy raised his head to see the bully glance down at him with a wicked smile.

"Sorry, but can't let you pull any heroics in this one." Turning around, Cardin smiled as he saw the fighters prepare for the next phase of the battle. "Just watch as Captain Hartbuster and his buddy is about to teach these freaks and their admirers a lesson."

Still trying to get out of his captors' hold, Jaune realized then he could only watch as Yatsuhashi ran with sword raised. The one known as Steele Hartbuster raised his hand with knuckles lined in steel and punched out to make it meet the other's brown broadsword.

The resulting crash created a small shockwave that blew apart the glass of the nearby windows. Jaune felt his heart break from seeing Velvet lift her arms in a weak attempt to protect herself from the falling glass.

* * *

A/N: So…anyone mad there's another OC? Don't worry, Steele Hartbuster is going to work as Ironwood's student and Penny's handler, but won't take over much other major roles. And to note, him and Lou are really going to be the only OCs for this story while other new names don't hold much significance aside from interesting backstory.

Now another shout-out to these people:

SeijuroRen

Kiyomaro-kun

dragoon109

MajorDarkblade

Cloy552

Werewolf2300

Vail Ryuketsu


	9. Steele Command

Chapter 9: Steele Command

A/N: Soooo…anyone want to break my legs?

I really am sorry for not getting this out asap. Been busy, so haven't had a chance to do a good editing until the other day.

Hope you guys can forgive me and enjoy the chapter as Jaune finds a new, quirky technique in the midst of the battle.

Reference: Gomu Gomu No Gatling

* * *

A shockwave erupted from Yatsuhashi's sword meeting Steele's iron fist. Pulling back, both fighters struck again with heavy blows. The exchange unleashed waves of solid energy that destroyed the weaker objects like the glass of windows and minds of the weaker beings. In his captivity, Jaune watched this battle with the other bystanders who believed being here was worth ditching class for a few more minutes.

With arms raised for another strike, Yatsuhashi couldn't swing down when Steele sent two quick jabs into his face. The armored giant shook his head before he struck down only to miss his target. He tried to chase the captain until his arms rose to block ribbons of hard light coming from the tips of Penny's gun-swords.

Behind Yatsuhashi's enduring body, Velvet threw yellow Dust shards that landed near Penny. The crystals shattered to unleash electric currents. Before the sparks could strike the robot in disguise, Steele jumped in the way with metallic legs that acted as lightning rods that attracted and nullified the shocking elements.

Without missing a beat, Yatsuhashi placed his weapon behind him with its point aiming the other way. The broadsword's sharp edge became covered in the blue Dust that was sprinkled from the vial in Velvet's hand. When the Faunus patted his shoulder, the armored giant swung his Dust-covered sword to fling out a blue, crescent-shaped wave. More slashes had more of the high pressured water waves come out and leave behind gashes in the passing walls.

This barrage didn't stop Steele as he had dark-red liquid coming from his arms. Limbs sizzling and smoking from their cover of molten magma, he formed his hands into knives before swinging them to meet the approaching water. Each strike made the waves of water evaporate into steam within an instant. When the last of the sharp liquid was gone, the captain dashed on as his arms turned back into silver.

Velvet just finished spilling brown Dust onto her partner's blade from another vial. When she moved away, Yatsuhashi drove his sword into the ground. This made a small earthquake rumble before the ground exploded to send sharp pieces forward and ready to skewer Steele.

Before the shrapnel made contact, they suddenly burst into clouds of dust. The dust grew as more pieces were destroyed from the blazing fire sent by Penny and her twin guns. Using this opening, Steele ran closer and had his arms become a darker shade of gray. His muscles now thicker, he came close and sent out punches that went fast as fire from a gatling gun.

Yatsuhashi blocked the blows with the flat side of his risen blade. He couldn't stop Penny from passing him and firing lasers at the Dust Velvet threw her way.

"Desist this struggle. Continuing this isn't making anything right." Penny swung her swords, but missed as Velvet quickly hopped backwards with more Dust in hands.

"Then why did you start this fight?" Velvet's pained rebuttal turned into a cry as a Dust shard she threw exploded too close to her body. Fortunately, this created a small wind that only pushed both her and Penny away from each other. When the Faunus tried to get up, Yatsuhashi grabbed her collar and threw her backwards while he raised his sword's flat side to block a power punch from Steele.

Seeing the four combatants continue their fight left the captive Jaune troubled. So far, nobody gave him an explanation of why they were fighting in the first place. Although this fight shouldn't be his responsibility, seeing Velvet in the midst of this conflict gave him a reason to try something to stop it.

"Well, it looks like this fight is going to be over soon." Cardin's remark came when he saw Steele land a solid kick into Yatsuhashi's head. Jaune saw this too, but felt relieved when the armored teenager regained balance before restarting the fight with heavy swings. He couldn't watch the fight as Cardinal's leader walked up in front of him and cracked his knuckles.

"Now for some payback. Let's see if you can try to beat us in this state, Jauney bitch." Cardin pulled back a clenched fist to prepare for a beat down onto the helpless blonde. Before he could throw it, his chest met a hard kick coming from the front of Jaune's shoe. This made him stumble backwards and fall into the people standing behind him.

Resorting to action, Jaune slammed a headbutt into Dove's forehead. He then kneed Russle hard in the stomach, a blow that made the surprised captor let go to give the blonde his freedom. When he turned his head, he saw Sky run away, probably scared that Jaune fought off everyone despite the advantage the team had. This was hardly true as the remaining members of Cardinal were already getting up, somewhat sore from their mistake of underestimating the one whose hands were still cuffed in Null Stone.

Jaune ran through the crowd in hopes of losing the people who were going to chase him to complete their vengeance. When he took a moment to watch the battle again, he saw Velvet unleash small funnels of wind from her hands holding green Dust shards. In the middle of these violent winds was Penny, who pushed through to continue her march towards the Faunus. A hard kick with her legs allowed the robot to make it close to where her fist made crushing contact with the rabbit's gut.

In horror, Jaune watched as Velvet flew back with small drops of blood coming from her mouth. Pushing through the crowd, he ran onto the battlefield with legs pumping hard. He got into a slide so he could move right onto Velvet's landing spot. When his body cushioned the Faunus's landing, he glanced down to see her panting in pain.

"J-jaune?" Still weak, Velvet peered up to show that one part of her face was dry with a trail of her blood. "Wh-why are you here? You shouldn't be here."

"Sorry, but I can't stand by and do nothing while you're in this kind of mess." The sitting boy waited for his brunette friend to get up from his lap. He had the leisure of this pause thanks to Yatsuhashi, who took the battle between him and Steele down the opposite end of the hallway. Pushing back the captain, the current fighter of Coffee smashed a back fist into penny trying to rush him from behind. This sent the orange-haired girl sliding on the ground toward Jaune and Velvet. When her skidding came to a stop, Penny looked up from the ground and smiled. "Greetings, how are you today?"

Jaune felt awkward to hear the question coming from the one who wrecked Velvet in the first place. Since his bound state wouldn't let him fight properly, he scooted up in front of his friend to act as her shield. "I'm not sure. Are you going to keep attacking the person behind me?"

"Why, of course not. She's no longer deemed a threat." Getting up, Penny used her hands to dust off the dirt on her dress. "While Yatsuhashi is a different case, I believe Captain Hartbuster will be fine on his own. He hasn't even started using his full strength yet…which might not be a good thing based on the coming outcome."

Jaune glanced at the mentioned fighters to see a surprising development. He saw the back of Yatsuhashi become covered in brown stone that encased the body in an armor made of earth that was probably created from Dust. In the opposite direction was Steele whose arms were lined with black material that sparked with black lightning.

Taking into the account the damage of the hallway, Jaune could only imagine that this time was going to result in a bad scenario. The audience didn't seem to have a clue of this as they continued watching with attentive eyes, unaware their lives may be in danger of the coming chaos.

Turning his back to Penny, Jaune asked, "Can you rip these off for me?"

"Sure, those do look very uncomfortable." The robot girl placed her swords on her waists and used hands to firmly grip the black handcuffs. With a few tugs, she broke off the Null Stone restraints that crumbled into many pieces. "There we go. Now, you should take your friend here and-."

Jaune didn't hear the rest as he ran off towards the fighters building strength. Ignoring Velvet's cry, he continued his run as he decided to stick with the objective that came to his mind.

To stop at least one of the combatants would mean stopping the shockwave that might blow up a huge portion of the hallway. It was a long shot, but he relied on one factor that could help him out.

" **Finally! That Null Stone is a pain in my ass!"** Speaking for the first time since the restraints came on, Lou asked, **"And huh? Something to stop them? Sure, was meaning to give you this move. Now have at them!"**

Jaune saw a mental image of darkness flood into his mind. In the midst of the black void, a small star shined to form something that the boy could only describe as something that reminded him of his first meeting with Lou. Otherworldly and beautiful, the object was something Jaune knew could manifest so to make it his own. He kept this possibility in his thoughts as he raised his two hands, one holding Crocea Mors and the other clenched into a shining fist.

" **See it? Now use it!"**

By instinct, Jaune swung his empty hand towards Yatsuhashi's back. The blonde moved on towards Steele's front and slashed both weapons in his hands against the captain to force him backwards. In this moment, Jaune looked at his hand to realize that he was holding onto a sword made of transparent, white glass with hilt covered in silver.

Jaune realized that he was dual-wielding Crocea Mors and his new weapon that he somehow knew was called the Arc Save. Hearing Lou's cheering in his mind made him realize that he just found a new ability that came from his ancestor's armory of inheritances.

"What the hell?" Steele regained his balance as his limbs sparking black lightning died down until they disappeared. "Hey, we're in the middle of a fight here, asshole. You mind not interrupting us?!"

Jaune was shocked to hear the kind of attitude and words coming from Steele, a person carrying a military rank. He even felt intimidated from the captain's face that reminded him of the well-known General of the Atlas military.

"Screw you, move it!" Steele's forward punch forced Jaune to raise his new sword to block it. Strangely, the weapon's metal didn't stop the punch that went through and made contact with Jaune's face. Resorting to Crocea Mors, he tried to swing only to miss as his enemy retreated while shaking an armored hand.

"Shit, what kind of weapon is that?" Getting back into a fighting stance, Steele glared at Jaune and Yatsuhashi, who remained still to not needlessly interfere. "Fine, fight for all I care. I'm not backing down from this until there's one winner between the two of us."

" **Bring it, General's boy. We're set to take you down. Arc Save can cancel your Aura attacks, even if…aw crap, someone's about to run interference."**

Before Jaune could ask what Lou meant by his phrase, he heard a solemn, strict voice say, "I'm afraid that's out of the question, Captain Hartbreaker. This fight should have never begain in the first place."

All eyes turned to see that the voice came from a man standing tall in a white uniform and gray armor. Standing tall at attention, the newcomer held an air of discipline and power. To many, they would have known him as the General. For others, he was James Ironwood, the headmaster of his Kingdom's domain. His position was made clear when his students, including Steele and Penny, took a moment to salute their authoritative figure.

This same man of high military order turned his full attention onto Steele. "Captain, do you mind explaining why you were about to destroy this hallway over a petty fight such as this?"

"I found our guys getting beaten down by those two over there." The nonchalant Steele pointed at the silent Yatsuhashi and Velvet getting helped up by Jaune. "Joined in to save them, but they're the tougher bunch in this school unlike the others I've seen."

"And yet, you seem to forget that violence is considered a last resort, Captain." His words sharp, the General sighed while shaking his head. "Perhaps self-restraint is something you can work on as leader of the Normal Coalition. Be sure to remember this in your future responsibilities, understand?"

"Yes sir." With a voice of disgrunt, Steele composed himself to where he still maintained a respectable stance. With this, Ironwood looked around and announced, "This battle is over, everyone return to your classes. Beacon's headmaster will know of this incident, thus he will determine the punishment for your actions while I handle my own students."

This made the crowd scatter, several regretting to be a part of this kind of event in the first place. For Jaune, he was about to go check on Velvet when he saw Ironwood walk up to him."

"Thank you for stopping the fight before its climatic end. Your insightful act has given me time to come in before my assistant here has escalated the situation." Ironwood glanced at Steele, who turned his frowning face away with a huff. Standing next to the captain was Penny, who giggled much to her partner's chagrin.

Jaune felt bashful before nervous as he remembered that Ironwood was the one who gave permission for the Normal Coalition to exist. With this in mind, he said, "Well, it's all I could think of before the fighting got worse. However, I don't think this would have happened if there were two sides to begin with." Despite his pounding heart and the sight of Ironwood's hardening gaze, Jaune managed to finish, "So…why did you make the Normal Coalition? It seems wrong to have people come under the cause of making every Faunus the enemy."

To Jaune's surprise, Ironwood let out what sounded like a sigh of exhaustion. With a soft inhale, the older man regained his composure. "Although your heart is in the right place with this question, that is something I can't answer for the sake of security."

" **Security? What kind of Grimm crap is that?"** Sounding frustrated, Lou continued, **"If anything, he should trust us to keep a secret. I want to know right now!"**

Jaune canceled out Lou's screams that were obviously seflish and immature. When he was about to walk away, he heard the General ask, "Do you mind telling me your name, young man?"

"Jaune Arc." Fearless of sharing his identity, the blonde looked up to make eye contact with Ironwood. "I'm the leader of Team Juniper, so if there's anything that needs to be done, it should go through me before my team members."

"I'll keep that in mind," the older man chuckled, amused by Jaune's willingness to take responsibility. "It seems there are people in need of your attention. You should see to them before heading to class." With a nod, the General turned around on his heel and marched towards the opposite end of the ruined hallway. While Penny followed her boss, Steele gazed at Jaune with a casual expression before he shrugged, put his hands into pockets, and walked off.

Relieved to see that the conflict was officially over, Jaune made his way to see that Velvet was sitting on the ground with Yatsuhashi standing nearby. "How bad is it? Do you need to get checked out?"

"I-I'm fine." Velvet put down her napkin that had the color of her blood on it. "I didn't regulate my Aura enough to prevent the damage. Resting during lecture should be enough for me to recover from my mistake."

After the Faunus tried to get up, she fell back down onto her knees while a hand was placed against her forehead. Concerned, Jaune kneeled beside her. Looking up at Yatsuhashi, he asked, "I can take it from here, so you should go to class."

When the armored giant gave a befuddled look, Jaune corrected, "She helped me once, so I want to return the favor. Is that okay?" This made Yatsuhashi hesitate for a moment as he looked at his sitting partner. He then nodded before rumbling away to leave the two alone. This had Jaune present his hand to Velvet, who slowly took it so she could have help when standing up.

"If you're talking about the time when I rescued you, you didn't have to be concerned about that."

"I know, but…this is me being concerned for a friend. We're friends after all, right?" Jaune felt warm to see Velvet smile and reply, "I actually said that the last time out of hope. It's good to see the feeling is mutual, Jaune."

" **Oh, look at that. She looks so cute with her curvaceous stance and that foreign accent. I bet you really liked how you rescued a damsel in distress like her, huh Prince Charming?"** Lou's annoyed tone had Jaune think that there really was something between it and Velvet. Although there was no hostility, the disinterest was definitely noticeable.

Burying his worried thoughts, Jaune placed Velvet's arm over his shoulder. When he walked on, he heard the nervous girl ask, "Wh-what are you doing?"

"You're still dizzy, aren't you? I'll help you walk to a medical room, so lean on me if you need the support." Jaune didn't notice that his words had the Faunus smile in appreciation. What he did feel is her head leaning against his shoulder as she noted, "I am a bit dizzy. Thank you for doing this, Jaune."

"Not a problem." Thinking he was doing the right thing, the knight of white armor didn't notice how him and the Faunus being together would make juicy rumors. Despite his denseness to miss these things without help, he was also busy fishing out his Scroll that was ringing from his pocket. When he slid open the lids to see what came for him, he felt pale to see that it came from Steele, a.k.a Captain Hartbuster.

" **Hot damn, he's calling us out! Drop this broad off and we'll kick his ass to the curve!"** Lou was relaying excitement, the emotion opposite of what Jaune was feeling. After making a note of the location Steele sent him, he continued on to support Velvet towards their move to the medical room.

* * *

A/N:

Jaune is heading to more trouble…or is he? Maybe we'll also find the true purpose behind the Normal Coalition. Wonder if anybody can guess what it is aside from being a group formed to keep a check on any suspicious Faunus activity.

And by tradition, here are the shout-outs:

Venomous dragons bite

Karlos1234ify

Machina Super Monstrum

Senrune

Solider without a Name


	10. Mission Coaltion

Chapter 10: Mission Coaltion

A/N:

Hey everyone. Sorry, but it looks like one upload per week is my limit. I'll try to do more so most of you won't be bored with your summer break. If anyone can, then come and check out the facebook page, RWBY United. I'm one of the moderators there as Qrow, so you'll see me come up every once in a while.

And in other news, Volume 3 has been announced to be in production. Looking forward to more of the show.

* * *

With a deep breath, Jaune opened the door and took his first step onto the rooftop. Taking more steps forward, he felt a light breeze gently brush his hair and clothes to the side. He raised a hand to block both winds and light coming from the orange light of the setting sun. When he noticed three silhouettes, he adjusted his eyes in time to see Cardin make a hard landing onto the concrete. As a witness, Jaune winced when the sole of Steele's silver boot slammed down and crunched into the chest of the bully's broken chestplate.

"See, it's people like you why everyone finds a reason to stir up trouble." The angry Steele raised his leg before slamming it down to hit Cardin again. Nearby, Penny just watched while sitting on the edge of the roof. In his position, Jaune wondered what his arch nemesis did to incur the wrath of the captain, a fellow member of the Norma Coalition.

Coughing, Cardin raised his head and groaned, "I-I'm sorry."

"Sorry doesn't cut it." Steele roughly grabbed Cardin's armored neckline and lifted him into the air. Letting body dangle, the captain made eye contact and growled, "I know about your record with the Faunus. While I support your enthusiasm, it should be used to stop the enemies when they're on the move. Starting vain fights like the recent one is an embarrassment to me and your allies."

When Cardin turned his head to avert his guilt-ridden eyes, Steele gripped the bully's face with one hand to forcefully make it look forward. Eyes blazing in fury, the one in control stated, "This happens again, your career as a Hunter is over. By my authority and strength, I'll make sure your hands will never be able to hold a weapon, understand?!"

Without waiting for an answer, Steele opened his hands to let his victim fall. With a clenched fist, the captain punched Cardin's stomach to send him flying into the air.

Jaune watched this spectacle with mixed feelings as his nemesis landed near his feet. With Steele's revelation and memories of the fight fresh in mind, the blonde looked down at the injured with an expression of disdain.

" **So this idiot started the fight? What a piece of shit. The only thing I'm grateful is that you got to show your skills."**

Jaune silently agreed except for the last part while he kept his eyes on Cardin limping towards the rooftop doorway. When the one departing was gone, he turned to see Steele cross his arms while Penny hopped off of her seat. Trying not to feel intimidated from what he's seen, he asked, "Well, here I am. Is there something you want to talk to me about? Maybe have an introduction?"

"Oh, I know plenty about you, Jaune. After what happened in the past few days, there's nobody who doesn't know your name." Steele slowly walked forward and circled around the nervous blonde with narrowed, examining eyes. "The defense of Vale City, impressive brawl with a full team, and figure of the retarded belief that you're the rising 'hero' of the 'oppressed' Faunus."

The leader of Juniper wasn't sure if he was listening to reasons that would make the Atlas members attack him with no witnesses around. His tension lessened when Steele walked towards Penny to stand next to her with his arms crossed again.

"So what's the point of getting into today's fight? Did you think it was bad that I was defending my guys from your friends?" The captain sounded calm, making his question more of a curious nature than threatening.

Understanding this, Jaune remarked, "The one in that fight was someone I knew. She was in trouble, so I stepped in to help her. And isn't it your group that really started the fight?"

"Cardin might have been accepted as a member, but I didn't know him enough to see he was an asshole," sighed the annoyed Steele. "Damn it, that time I arrived was when everybody was all yelling at me that our guys were getting beaten up by strong fighters. They should have been a little clearer with their report."

"So…that's it? You were protecting your group because of a misunderstanding?" It was Jaune's turn to be curious as the captain also didn't seem too pleased that the reason for the fight happened in the first place.

"Yeah…yeah, we can say it's my bad. That's why by tomorrow, the Normal Coalition is going to be given some new rules to follow." Steele cracked his knuckles, an image signaling that 'giving' will involve some physical applications.

When Jaune waited to hear more, silence filled the air for the next few minutes. With the sun setting lower and winds becoming colder, he started to believe that the conversation recently ended and the two Atlas reps were waiting for him to leave.

" **Great, typical military assholes to make this awkward. Come on, let's go back so you could cuddle up with your pyrrhic body pillow. I'm hoping more accidents happen between the two of you."**

Ignoring the perverted comment, the leader of Juniper began to turn on his heel. When he was just about to face the door, he heard Penny say, "Steele, didn't you call him up here to apologize? Just do it now so you don't have to feel bad about not doing it later."

"Shut up, Penny." More annoyed than angry, Steele loudly cleared his throat. "He might not even need to hear it since he knows that our guys aren't going to do pull the same act twice."

"But you said you wanted to personally apologize because he didn't seem like such a bad guy." Penny walked towards Jaune to lean close so she could scrutinize the blonde better. "And we were right. He got involved to help out a friend. As a good person, he deserves an apology. Even I know that it's better to say some things rather than leave them unspoken."

Steele scratched a part of his head, looking befuddled on his decision. Soon, he said, "Fine, fine. Jaune, sorry that you and your friend got involved. That accounts for those party bombs from this morning that I know you had to deal with. Some dumbass named Russell apparently thought of this with the less disciplined dumbasses."

For some reason, the blonde felt sympathy for the captain, who was starting to appear somewhat decent despite his rough nature. Remembering his own difficulties during his first days in Beacon, Jaune felt the need to provide a break for the head of the Coalition.

" **Okay, come on. Don't be a nice guy like that. If he messed up, then you have to let him feel some heat. Remember, the bunny still had to suffer a few lumps cause of these two."**

Despite knowing how the telepathic jewel mentioned Velvet to rile him up, Jaune still felt frustrated that his new, Faunus friend was indeed a victim of the recent battle. Keeping mercy in mind, he said, "Don't apologize to me, apologize to everyone involved, including Velvet since it's the responsible thing to do."

"Actually, I already had my members apologize to those involved. Velvet and Yatsuhashi will get theirs from Cardin before my own visit with Penny, the weirdo here standing with me. After all, they gave a pretty good fight. They have my respect for holding out well."

Jaune noted how the captain's smile displayed a hint of joy from remembering his fight with the members of Team Coffee. While this unnerved and confused him, the blonde still said, "So you are doing the right thing. Wait, are you apologizing to the Faunus too?"

"Well, yeah. They deserve it too since there were also victims involved." Raising one eyebrow, Steele said, "Wait a minute, you don't believe we're discriminating against the Faunus, are you?"

Jaune's silence made the captain ruffle his coat. "Okay, so you've been fed that propaganda. Maybe I should pay those media vultures a visit later; better not give my teacher trouble with their bullshit." The adamant boy of steel cracked his knuckles in a violent manner.

"And if you do that, the General will have to clean up after you, which would give him more trouble." Penny's logical statement had her partner rub fingers against his forehead due to stress. Jaune sighed as he started seeing that the Atlas duo weren't as bad as he believed them to be at their first meeting. Plus, he felt guilty as he may have been given some exaggerated information, although Ozpin's advice had him take most of his considerations with a pinch of salt.

Finding more questions than answers, Jaune asked, "Then can you tell me what exactly the Normal Coalition is supposed to be doing?"

"Watching out for unusual activity, most involving the White Fang." Somehow switching to a more formal tone, Steele continued, "And when Faunus are students in a school that teaches them how to fight, they need to have someone to keep a watch on them. We, the upcoming warriors of Atlas, have been ordered to take on this task while going on about with our original roles as attending students…well, something like that."

Jaune took a second to replay the answer that was given to him. After Lou made some good points in his mind, the boy made his final thoughts before answering, "Well, orders are orders from where you come from, I'm sure. But it's not really propaganda if it's still your mission to keep an eye out on the Faunus. To most of us, that would still be discriminating in some way."

"Can you really say that?" Steele asked his question with words laced in frustration. "First of all, that fight and the morning pranks giving the group a bad name shouldn't have happened; I've been making that very clear to you. We were never supposed to have been bothering our fellow students with that kind of aggression. It's only if something happens when we'll ever commit ourselves to violence not just on them, but the ones with bad intentions."

" **Says the guy who seems to like fighting. But…for some reason, I'm getting a familiar vibe off of him as he talks. That's weird."**

Jaune disregarded Lou's mental comments that were too aimless and not on the subject. "Is that the same for the city? There seems to be a lot more going on over there."

"The soldiers there are taking precautions since that's where most of the White Fang are at. You should know criminal activities haven't stopped even when Roman Torchwick was kicked out of the picture." Steele aimed his gaze in the direction of Vale City. "And honestly, it can't be helped. By more than coincidence, the White Fang began causing trouble right as preparations for the Vytal Festival started. In times like this, we have to keep a close eye on things for the people's protection."

Jaune almost agreed, but still found some parts of Steele's statement to be wrong. "But Atlas is still focusing on the Faunus. It's just not fair to have everyone look at them or else people will think every one of them is considered guilty."

"Okay Jaune, let me ask you. What is the White Fang's mission?" Steele watched the boy grow silent. With one question alone, the captain managed to have the leader of Juniper understand his own contradiction with his previous statements. Knowing this, he glanced at Penny and asked, "Can you answer for him?"

"Sure," said the observant one that had yet to reveal herself as an android to Jaune. "The purpose of the White Fang is to annihilate the human populace. Reports noted that several members have donned disguises and became sleeper agents to cause damage from inside our societies."

Steele nodded as his partner helped sum up to his point. "With the White Fang around, we can't help but consider the other Faunus as enemies. As long as we don't know whose side is on whose, then the best we can do is place the proper regulations. Plus, it's your council that gave the General command over security. If anybody needs to be convinced on any changes, it's them."

Jaune sadly nodded as the captain made a point. Getting frustrated at anyone who hailed from Atlas would have been pointless when the city's council, members who understood Faunus relations, considered all options that led to the army's occupation. In this moment, he didn't expect Steele to pat him on the shoulder.

"Cheer up. Most of this should blow over by the time the Vytal Festival is done. If the White Fang doesn't do anything then, things should go back to normal for this city's Faunus." Steele walked backwards to give Jaune space. "And with me in charge, I'll keep my people in line. Just hope the Faunus in this place doesn't do anything to retaliate, or that'll escalate the situation on a different level of stupid."

" **And he's nice to a hero like you…oh, hell no. Don't tell me he has the quality too,"** Lou said with a groan of exasperation. Unsure why the jewelry was so dramatic, Jaune focused on smiling at the captain. "That's good to hear. At least you have a good grasp of the situation."

Unexpectedly, Steele's frown turned into a lighter shade of a small grin. "Leaders are supposed to have good insight, something you've shown after coming here. Even appreciate that you at least listened to me until the end rather than spout a bunch of one-sided views."

A giggle had both boys glance at the source to see it was Penny. "I didn't expect to see you ever being that nice to someone you just met, Steele," she said with a smile. "Maybe you can have a decent friend who won't run from you when you have your tough guy act on."

"It's common courtesy between the two of us. Don't just assume anyone can be friends at first glance." Steele placed his hand under chin, a display of a sudden idea coming to mind. "But maybe we can consider you an ally of sorts. People are looking up to you as an ideal representative of the Normal Coalition's opposition, so maybe you can help calm things down from that angle."

Penny smirked as she started waving her body back and forth in a playful manner. "Maybe we can tell him about the other purpose of the Normal Coalition."

"Other purpose?" Jaune asked. "There's another reason why the group exists?"

"No, no, I didn't mean anything by that." Obviously trying to fix a slip of tongue, Penny didn't help make her case when she hiccupped right after saying her lie. Steele's facepalm confirmed to Jaune that there was more going on that the two didn't mean to share.

For the best or worst, this was something Jaune had to know since he didn't enjoy the suspicious feelings he was starting to have from this supposed secret. "Can I know about this? If it's a secret, then I promise to not tell anyone unless things go out of hand."

"Sure,but you better keep your word or else it's going to cause a lot of trouble by itself." Steele's words had Penny look up and ask, "You're going to tell him? Is that really okay? We even had orders to not discuss this with anyone."

"Well penny brains, we don't have a choice since you let the cat out of the bag on this one." The captain suddenly placed his knuckles on both sides of the girl's head before twisting them. "And just because we're in front of someone doesn't mean I'm going to do this to you!"

When Jaune believed Penny was being tortured, he noticed that the girl didn't react at all as he wasn't aware that her head was harder than the normal human skull. He was even surprised to hear her say, "Another massage? But this never does anything to me and you know the reason why."

"Okay, then how about this?!" Using one hand to grip his partner's skull, Steele lifted up the body to let it dangle before shaking it around like a ragdoll. Jaune wasn't appalled by this happening, more at how Penny was laughing at her situation that could have been attributed to domestic violence.

For a robot in disguise, violence might not have been be a legal breach in normal society since she's the first Aura synthetic lifeform of Remnant.

"Quit playing around, Steele. If we're going to tell him, we should do it before nighttime settles in." Penny said this as her partner let go so she could land on the rooftop. Her cheery expression showed that she wasn't harmed in any way.

Seeing this, Steel turned around in a cross manner to where his back was facing Penny and Jaune. "Fine, then you tell him since this started with you. Remember that you let out anymore classified info, I'm placing all of the blame on you."

Penny skipped up to Jaune and placed her mouth next to his ear. "He's not serious. Really, if you give him a chance, you can find him to be as nice as you."

"I heard that, penny brains. Just hurry up and tell him!"

Jaune cringed as Steele sent a sharp glare in his way. Penny saw this and only smiled before she leaned back while her hands adjusted the pink bow clipped to her hair. When ready, she said, "Alright. Straight to the point, the Normal Coalition was also created so we could keep a close eye out on those who hate the Faunus. Since Faunus opposition always involved harsh cases, the General has decided that it's better for the trusted members like me and Steele here to keep a close eye on those who believe they've gathered for a similar cause."

The explanation left Jaune speechless as he didn't expect this at all. To hear James Ironwood purposely make a group so they could round up potential troublemakers and keep an eye on them held so many positive and negative results.

Lou sounded equally surprised when it exclaimed, **"Wh-wh-what? So they're not your typical pricks? And Steele is in charge of this kind of thing? Am I the only one starting to see he's possibly a threat to you as heroic material?!"**

" _Quiet, I can't hear her when you're yelling in my head!"_ Jaune managed to say his mental reply in time to hear a crash behind him. When he turned, his body was slammed by the flat side of the flying door. Propelled backwards by the force of the crash, Jaune found that his body was ready to fall over the edge of the roof behind him right as he heard, "We're here to rescue you Jaune!"

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A/N: Tensions arise as the three new arrivals gets involved and Jaune finds out that some parts of the Atlas group has good intentions. Stay tuned as the next chapter will not just hold progress for the plot, but for our heroes as well.

And hey, hope readers can check out the RWBY Facebook group, RWBY United.


	11. Jumble of Surprises

Chapter 11: Jumble of Surprises

A/N: Okay, you guys can break my legs. Being late is pretty inexcusable on my part, even if my new schedule for work has been placing me on the run.

I'll try ot make this up in the future. For now, hope everyone enjoys this chapter that is going to settle one issue while setting up more for the future. Also, don't forget to favorite, follow, and/or review if you can.

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Jaune wasn't sure why anyone would try to rescue him when he wasn't in peril. All he knew was that the arrival had involved smashing the door off from its hinges and straight into his body. This contact forced the blonde backwards, threatening to make him fall off the roof as he didn't have his feet on the ground to anchor his body.

Expecting the worst, the one in trouble felt a hand wrap around his body to stop him. When another hand lifted the door off of his body, Jaune was surprised to find that it was Penny who came to his aid while showcasing a strength that didn't match her slender arms.

"Hey, get your hands off of Jaune!" The same voice from earlier turned out to be from Sun, who had leg raised to show that he was the initiator of the dynamic entry. Lowering the same limb, the monkey took out his staff and aimed one end towards Steele. At the same time, Neptune came up from behind with his gun up and ready to shoot.

"Who are you? Why does it look like you're ready to engage us with those weapons of yours?" After setting Jaune down, Penny reached for the guns-swords hanging on her waist. She couldn't open the compartment on her back as she was restrained from using them unless circumstances were dire.

Steele walked up to pull Jaune behind him in an attempt to keep Juniper's leader out of a possible fight. "What she said; who the hell are you two? You can't just barge into a meeting like this."

"Technically, this place is open for most students, so we have rights to be here." Neptune noticed his spiky-haired partner glare pointed in his direction. "What? It's true regarding school regulations."

"Really? You want to be a nerd at a time like this?!" Sun exclaimed while he formed his gunchucks, Ruyi and Jingu Bang, into both hands. Looking back at the Atlas duo, he yelled, "And somebody told us that they saw all three of you hanging out here for a while now. After what you did to the Faunus today, we're not going to let you have your way with our pal!"

Jaune felt pale as he saw that his friends were having the wrong belief about Steele and Penny. Despite how both of them were labeled to be on the evil known as the Coalition Group, the neutral blonde believed now wasn't a time for any of them to be hostile.

When he thought of a plan, Jaune came into the space between the Normal Coalition and Team Sun. "Guys, I'm fine. There was no harm done, see?" The blonde waved his hands to show he wasn't harmed. "We were just having a calm chat. There's no need for me to be rescued in any way."

"You say this after we came up all this way to help you? Exactly whose side are you on, Jaune?"

All eyes turned to the doorway that was covered by the darkness untouched by the sun's dim rays. Right as the lamps turned on to illuminate the area, a figure walked into the dim lights. In white and black clothes, the brunette had a sword and sheathe in each of her hands.

The newcomer was Blake Belladonna, the mysterious shadow of Team Ruby. Seeing her eyes filled with vengeance didn't make Jaune feel positive about her real reason for being here. His concern grew when the cat raised her blade to point them at Jaune and the Atlas duo behind him.

"Well? Answer me. Exactly what are you doing with the people who should be your enemies as they're ours?" Blake's demand had Steele and Penny take up battle stances. In the middle of the two groups, Jaune didn't know what he could do to calm down the present tension.

To make matter worse, Lou hummed, **"Wow, got quite a choice to make, Jaune. Alright, here's the plan. Beat up these Atlas kids, woo the girl, then take her to bed. That way, you'll have two body pillows for the night. Chop chop, get to work, cassanova."**

Jaune inwardly groaned as Lou has given a scenario that would definitely ruin his new ties with Penny and Steele. Thinking of another idea, he remarked, "Nobody is an enemy here. Tell them Steele, you guys were going to apologize to the others later, right?"

The captain's nod had Sun and Neptune look at each other out of confusion. Blake didn't seem convinced as her stance didn't relax in the slightest. "Really? Is the captain going to apologize to Velvet for what he did to her today?"

"Yeah, we're going to do it, so stop repeating the sob story I've been hearing all day." Clearly annoyed, Steele crossed his arms with a strict frown. "Jaune already told me about it. Hearing this from a girl I just met isn't respectful at all, let alone a cat Faunus who's seeing me and Penny as the bad guys without much justification."

"Uh, you know she's a Faunus?" Sun exchanged nervous glances with Neptune. After looking at Blake, he said, "You can't really say that unless there's an obvious sign like my tail here. Throwing around random details can-."

"I know she's a Faunus because of her ribbon. If you're trying to keep a secret, then you better get a better disguise for that." Steele's statement was followed by Penny saying, "I thought so too. Maybe she should think of getting a hat; that bow isn't doing its job very well."

The comments from the Atlas folks had Jaune feel a bit confident that Blake's secret wasn't breached in any way. Feeling silly to worry, he noticed that the Faunus in question didn't seem to care about his concern as she calmly lowered her weapons.

"Then let me hear it. I need to make sure the apology you're planning to give is appropriate for her." Blake tapped a foot on the ground, showing that she was waiting for the captain to reply to her demand. Jaune inwardly groaned when he saw the young soldier flare is nostrils in anger.

"You want to see if my apology is enough?! Wow, so you think you can just waltz up to me and judge whether or not the quality of my words are enough?!" Steele aimed an accusing finger at the cat. "You, miss, need to take it down a notch. This is the first time I've met you. No familiarity, no respect, and clearly no trust if you're going to play the Faunus in distress card on me."

Jaune walked backwards to join Neptune, Sun, and Penny who were all standing near the edge of the roof. Seeing this fight between Steele and Blake had him realize he shouldn't interfere as the two were in terms of talking things out.

"There is no card to play since I know how Atlas works. Your organization's ways are the reason why the Schnee Company has Faunus slaves in the first place."

Steele scoffed at the given details. "While my pay grade doesn't let me know the details, Atlas wouldn't make capturing Faunus their sole purpose. They would only be involved to make sure that those kind of Faunus finish their terms of service. You know, the ones who used to be criminals or couldn't pay off the debts like everyone else?"

"Service? Sure, and the harsh working conditions involved with mines and labor are also in the line of humane standards." Blake had her sarcastic reply come with her own scoff. The tone and manner had Jaune almost believe Weiss was here; the Faunus must have been influenced by the heiress in some way.

Overall, Jaune was feeling uncomfortable by the ongoing debate as a lot of the details were something he heard as rumors, not concrete facts. Using a quiet voice, he asked, "So when is all of this anger talk going to end?"

"Beats me, I was here just to save your ass from whatever trouble you were in." Sun took another bite out of the candy bar that he took from Neptune's pocket. "Since there isn't going to be any action, I think we're in for a long haul. Blake was pretty ticked about this whole Normal Coalition thing since this morning."

The blonde sighed as he figured this was the case. When he noticed Neptune raise an arm to present a candy bar, he said, "Thanks," and took the small snack. He presented it to Penny and asked, "Want some? You didn't look like you had anything to eat."

"No thanks. Even if I had a stomach, seeing Steele arguing like this would have made my appetite disappear." Despite her sad remark, Penny still smiled and said, "But thanks anyways. I'm glad I was right to see you as a kind person, Jaune. I hope you can continue to be like this for me and Steele during our stay here."

Before Jaune could reply to the girl's kind request, he noticed that Blake held up her Scroll to show a picture of what he realized was the giant robot that was announced by Ironwood the other day.

"Then can you explain this?" Blake hissed as she came closer to the captain to have him take a closer look at her device. "Why was a Paladin sighted on our campus? Something this dangerous shouldn't be here in the first place."

Steele had his mouth kept shut as he eyed the details of the article. After a brief moment of silence, he looked at Penny. "Hey, did command or the General ever tell us about a delivery like this?"

"Nope. Unless there's an issue with communications, we have no news or reports on that kind of delivery." As Penny stated this, a loud explosion went off from a far location. This made everyone run in that direction and look over the rooftop to see what was happening.

When Jaune found his own spot, he peered out to see smoke coming from one part of the school's stony path. It was there where he saw bodies lying on the ground, most moving while several were still. Appalled by this, he looked around for the source only to see the hulking form of the Atlesian Paladin rumble around the corner of a building.

Jaune realized that a possible delivery by Atlas was being used by an unknown individual to cause mayhem during night, a time when almost everyone was settled down. While he found this strange, Lou supported his suspicion by saying, **"On the same day this Paladin caught some attention, we see this happen. Is there a setup going on here? Oh well, hero time. Let's mark one more win for you before bedtime, kiddo."**

Before Jaune could think of his next action, he heard Steele yell, "Penny, contact base and find out what's going on. I'm going to take care of this trash before the news hounds place the blame on Atlas for this."

"Alright, good luck Steele." Penny's words of encouragement led to the the captain jumping off the rooftop. Just when Jaune believed the captain was insane, he saw that the one falling suddenly had small tornadoes form around his feet to help him make a safe landing on the ground before running off.

This sight encouraged Jaune to set his own foot onto the edge. As his hands reached for his shield, he noticed Blake take up a similar stance beside him. "You're going too?"

"I don't see why not. It's natural since the teachers might not make it in time." The cat turned her gaze to the noise caused by the unseen robot. "Besides, I can't trust an Atlas officer to handle this, whether or not this is all a mistake. If you're going to help, can you keep up with the rest of us?"

Jaune saw Sun hop next to Blake while Neptune nervously peered over the edge and wince at the sight of the ground that was far below. Feeling confident thanks to the plan in his mind, the blonde warrior bent his legs so he could squat into position. "I have to try something. It's my job as a Hunter to help protect the others, both Faunus and humans."

With that, Jaune jumped off the rooftop, not knowing that his statement and action left his friends gawking at him out of surprise. Still falling, the boy placed his shield at his front and used **Lumen Burst** to have a blast of light burst out from the surface of his weapon. The force of his attack broke his fall and launched him up enough for his feet to adjust so the bottoms could make proper landing onto the ground.

With body intact, the leader of Juniper ran to the place filled with unpleasant sounds. Along the way, he heard something land on the area near him. He turned his head to see Blake run near his left side while Sun caught up to his right.

"Man, didn't expect that out of you," yelled the smiling Sun. "Then it's time we go kick some ass, right Neptune?"

Jaune didn't understand the monkey's question until he saw the blue-haired boy come in while carried by three of Sun's yellow, astral clones. As the monkey copies disappeared, Neptune managed to stumble onto his feet and run alongside the others.

"Yeah, but mind being a little more gentle the next time?!" Neptune shot his partner a disproving look while his hand rubbed his sore bottom. "I know climbing down isn't my forte, but you could have at least given me a heads!"

Jaune couldn't hear Sun's rough reply as he turned around the corner of a building. There, he saw the Paladin trying to ram its arms into a moving Steele, who had fire flowing from his shoulder blades. Unsure why the captain wasn't fighting at full strength, the blonde boy noticed the bodies lying all around the field of battle. They were students, fellow classmates, who appeared to have been victims of the larger robot's rampage.

" **Oh look, Steele isn't using his full power so the unconscious bystanders could remain safe. Typical heroic behavior, blah blah blah. Mind going in already to save the day, Jaune?"**

Taking note of Lou's disdainful voice, the Arc descendant ran on while he had both hands on his swords. His shield remained on his back so it could unleash a blast of energy from activation of **Lumen Burst**. This rocketed the blonde up into the air so he could stab the blade into the backside of the gray, armored suit.

Hanging on as the Paladin tried to shake him off, Jaune felt his body get flung around like the times he had wild rides on a playground's circular roundabout. He held back his barf as he saw his distraction allowed the others to get close. Sun and Blake whacked away at the steel giant's legs while Neptune provided supporting fire with his gun. Altogether with Steele's power strikes, everyone boxed in the Paladin so their battle won't affect the nearby others.

Remembering his technique from earlier today, Jaune raised an empty hand so his **Arc Save** , a transparent sword, could take form. He stabbed the weapon into the Paladin, hoping his skill would quickly drain the suit of armor's energy supply.

" **Stay focused, remember that Arc Save can pass through physical objects based on your will. But nice eyes my man, you're getting the hang of your genes's goodies. Looking forward to your own contribution once you get someone who's willing to have a kid with you."**

Lou's implication of procreation had Jaune lose his focus. As noted by the jewel, his **Arc Save** came out as its transparent form couldn't stick to the solid surface. This happened just as the Paladin's upper body did a 180-turn that finally threw the boy off of the robot.

In the air, Jaune felt helpless as the earlier spin made him too dizzy to correct his form. During his flight, he suddenly stopped when someone caught and placed him over a firm shoulder. When he was dropped to where his bottom met the ground, he looked up to see Blake yank her ribbon backwards so her blade embedded in a wall could come back.

"Thanks?"

"Look out," Blake answered as she yanked Jaune away so they could dodge an energy blast. Pulling away from his rescuer's hand, the boy raised his shield so he could defend him and the Faunus behind from the barrage of blue energy that rained down upon them. When the attacks stopped, both teenagers peered over their protection to see Neptune jam his spear into one of the Paladin's arm gun while Sun hung onto the other with his clones to force the barrel down and aim at the ground.

Sparing no time, Jaune threw his shield forward with all his strength. The metal's pointed end stuck into the Paladin's arm joint, making its hand cannon unable to freely move around. Neptune saw this and carried out the same tactic by jabbing his polearm into the other arm joint. At the same time, the giant robot jumped back to gain some distance, but couldn't move its upper limbs as they were sparking from the damaged areas.

"Look out, it still has missiles!" Blake took out Gambol Shroud in its gun form she could prepare to shoot down the coming projectiles.

"Missiles?!" In simultaneous responses, the boys raised their weapons to prepare for the announced attack. Instead, they saw a huge explosion erupt from the Paladin's back just as its legs were sliced off from underneath.

The renegade robot was now on the ground as a useless, limbless body of scrap metal. Coming around this former threat was Steele, whose arms turned from a jet-black color back to their normal color. The captain sighed as he glanced at the four who came to stop the Paladin with him.

"Thanks, this wouldn't have ended quicker without you guys."

Steele's form of gratitude had Jaune nod with a smile. He looked at his friends to see that they didn't expect the young soldier to treat them in such a fair manner.

Sun was the first of the three to recover by giving his version of a smile. "No problem, glad we stopped this thing."

"Or person." Blake walked up to the remains of the Paladin, to the front where the cockpit hatch was at. "The pilot behind is to blame for what happened. If it turns out to be one of your people, will you take responsibility, Captain Hartbuster?"

Steele shrugged his shoulders. "I can't really point fingers until we find out. If this is caused by one of our guys, then they'll face the full hell of the consequences for doing something that could shame Atlas."

The answer seemed to satisfy Blake as she calmly approached the cockpit with Steele. While Sun and Neptune exchanged whispers on the side, Jaune heard Lou make a cough that asked for his attention.

" **Jaune, remember how I was expressing displeasure towards our hard-ass commando over there?"**

The addressed blonde looked over to see Blake and Steele trying to get the Paladin's pilot door opened. _"Yeah, what about it?"_

" **I think it's high time you know that I don't like him because he's the closest one to becoming a hero compared to you and the other fledglings. No offense, but his position and power is clearly saying he's a cut above the cream of the crop as of this point."**

" _Isn't that a good thing?"_ Jaune paused as he saw Steele glare at Blake. The far distance made it difficult for the blonde to hear the conversation going on between the Faunus and human. _"If he ends up becoming a good guy, then he can help us!"_

" **First off kid, that's a big 'if.' He's under the command of the pricks who fling their worthless junks all around because they have the power to get away with it. Never trust a man under the thumb of those kind of people. Oh, and second, I just don't like the fact that if he hangs around, he could easily take the spotlight away from you."**

Jaune felt frustrated by the last part of Lou's remark. _"How would you say something so selfish? It's hard enough to deal with the fact that you want me to become some weird cross between a womanizer and a jerk. Don't label people like this or I might end up becoming the bad guy because of you."_

" **So you won't listen? Fine, then do me a favor and at least become strong enough someday to where you can kick this guy's ass. Better safe than sorry for the sake of your current and future assets."**

The owner of the talking necklace was about to send another resort until he heard, "It's about damn time!" Jaune looked at the source to see that it was Steele breaking off the door of the Paladin with his bare hands. Blake was on the side and shaking her head. Sun and Neptune watched the captain's performance with impressed nods.

By the time Jaune came over to look inside the robot with the others, his breathing came to a complete halt. His action added to the silence aside from the groans of the nearby students, who were awaking from their forced unconsciousness.

"Holy shit, this is really bad." Steele stepped away from the door while both hands scratched his head out of frustration. "This is not good. Why is someone like her even piloting this Paladin in the first place?!"

Inside the Paladin's cockpit was a young girl who had long hair and a pair of cat ears, features colored in blue. While her status as a Faunus riding an Atlas vehicle was surprising, it couldn't compare to how the person had on the same uniform worn by the students of Beacon.

The final surprise of this discovery was the White Fang mask planted on her lap. As a sign of membership form the infamous group of feral Faunus, this meant that the pilot held the identities as a student, pilot, and secret agent.

Everyone knew then that the situation was about to escalate to an all new issue. Trying to think ahead, Jaune found himself asking more questions of what the future will bring for him, his friends, and the other attendants of Beacon.

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A/N: So…any guesses on what the future is going to bring? Remember that this is also the first chapter where Jaune has made contact with Blake (if that's enough of a hint).


	12. Midnight Discoveries

Chapter 12: Midnight Discoveries

A/N: So to make up for my last late update, here's an early one I'd like to present to all of you. Have run reading and don't forget to favorite, follow, and/or review.

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A topless Jaune sat on top of his bed with legs in gray cotton pants hanging off of the edge. His elbows on thighs allowed his hands to be folded so his chin could rest on top of them. To most who saw him, they would have never believed the quirky boy was the legendary Thinking man.

As of now, the boy was in deep thought of the Faunus girl he saw a few hours ago. During that time, all she did was just stare at the group as if expecting to be apprehended by the authorities. This happened when Penny arrived with Atlas soldiers, the adult ones, who took the culprit away. Since then, everyone turned in for the night while Steele remained on the site so he could present a report for the investigation team.

Jaune knew he wasn't the only one who felt disturbed by what he saw. He couldn't even hide it when his teammates bombarded him with questions after his return to the dorm. Thankfully, his request to give an explanation the day after had the others turn in for the night without further fuss. Even Lou was silent after it made an earlier note that its owner should sleep. Despite how this sounded nice to the blonde, he stayed awake past midnight.

Taking a deep breath, Jaune looked up at the ceiling so his eyes could find refreshment in a different sight. He tried to let the cool air calm his mind that was heated from his racing minds. Just when he considered going to the restroom, two warm arms wrapped around his bare neck.

"Why are you still up? You should be asleep by now."

The deep, exhausted voice had the boy turn to see that it was coming from an awoken Pyrrha. Her hair untied and running down her shoulder, she was alluring especially in her crimson tank top. To see her face so close to his had the boy feel the winds of her slow breathing tickle his skin. If he wasn't so tired and troubled, the adolescent teenager might have actually acted on desires he held for his attractive partner.

On cue, Lou's voice came up from the depths of his mind. **"Yes, young one, give in to the libido. The silent and perky ones can find a different bedroom if you two decide to get it on."**

Still a considerate teammate, Jaune smiled at his bedmate. "I'm not tired, just getting ready to go to the restroom. I'll be back." When Jaune tried to pull away, he felt his bedmate's interlocked limbs maintain their firm grip. Unsettled by this, he looked at his partner again to see her exhausted eyes were creased with concern.

"Jaune, if there's anything bothering you, we can always talk about it." Showing her astute nature, the red-haired girl gently let her fingers slide off of the boy's arms as if she wanted to feel the hard muscles and skin. After her arms were completely off, she scooted away so she could give the blonde enough room for his departure. "If it's personal, then we can go to the rooftop and have our discussion there, just the two of us. Don't forget that I'm here for you."

Hearing his partner's considerate offer had Jaune give a grateful smile as he got up. Reaching for the white shirt on a nearby chair, he quickly placed the top on so his upper body could be covered. "It's nothing major. I was just thinking of the things we'll talk about in the morning. Our evenings might even get busy from now on."

Jaune took off his necklace, Lou, and handed it over to his surprised partner. Not understanding the effect of his action, he said, "And can you hang onto this till tomorrow? Hope you don't mind, this family heirloom is getting a bit tight around my neck."

" **Dust Almighty, you little punk! Getting rid of me so you could have a piece of mind is just going against my rights as your wingman!"** Lou's brief tirade disappeared when it calmly sighed, **"But I guess I could substitute as bling bling. Sharing me would make her feel happy you consider her a trusted, valuable person. Man, I can't be more proud that you're even doing this unintentionally."**

"O-okay, sure." Pyrrha glanced down at the necklace before she looked up with eyes of wonder. "Then…be careful. I mean, come back soon. Wait, what I meant was…good night."

Jaune watched his bedmate quickly lay back down and pull the covers over her head. Unsure why she reacted this way, he quietly made his way through the door so he could step into the hallway. As he turned towards the direction of the restroom, he noticed a shadow slink through the hallways of the wall's dim lighting.

Curious, the boy followed the mysterious figure. His slow steps made him unable to identify the person, who turned around many corners. Eventually, the two night staklers went through the double doors of one wall that led to an outside balcony.

Jaune came up to the doorway, intent on discovering who this person was so he could get rid of his nagging curiosity. Eyes adjusting to the outside moonlight, he found that his target turned out to be a familiar friend.

"Who's there?" The one on the balcony turned around to reveal an adorable face. Her school uniform of white undershirt and plaid skirt of red and black were present, only lacking the dark, dress jacket and black stockings. Brown hair and rabbit ears were the key traits that would have led to the discovery that the person was Velvet Scarletina.

For a moment, Jaune believed that the Faunus was a shining goddess under the full shine of the moonlight. Taking himself out of his trance, the boy waved a hand and announced, "It's me, Jaune. Sorry about that, didn't know who you were so I kind of followed until I could find out."

The boy gave himself a mental slap as he described actions only a stalker would do. Thankfully, Velvet portrayed a smile that placed the self-accused at ease.

"Oh, hello Jaune. It's good to see you out here." The Faunus's lovely accent gave the addressed one enough courage to take several steps forward. Velvet placed a hand on the flat of the balustrade, the balcony's enclosing made of stone. "Are you here to watch the stars too? It may be a little late, but it's a perfect to stargaze in this kind of environment."

The blonde listener looked up to see the black blanket of space was indeed filled with various dots of the celestial bodies. "You're right, but shouldn't you still be resting in the medical place?"

"Not anymore. After waking up, I found a notice on my bed that said I was free to leave at any time. The evening seemed like a better time to exit; my team might need my help if they're planning to carry out our assignments soon."

"Yeah, I was kind of worried about that too, even if the headmaster didn't give me anything specific to do." Jaune leaned his back against the balcony's balustrade, the smooth railing. "Still, it's good to see that you're up. I guess the fight didn't hurt you as much as it worried me."

Velvet's smile disappeared as she answered, "No, and you're not the first person to have believed my injuries were life-threatening."

"So there were other people people?" Jaune asked this question when he saw the Faunus appear disturbed. "Is that something bad? It's good when people worry since that means they care about you."

"Perhaps, but it's somewhat discouraging from time to time. Blake and Yatsuhashi didn't seem pleased that I was hurt in the first place during their visits. The others asked me questions of similar nature." With a sad smile, Velvet looked up at the sky as if trying to find comfort in the ocean of distant stars. "It seems like everyone is trying to take care of me, forgetting that I'm also a Huntress. Perhaps they see me as a weak person…or just someone who tends to get in their way."

Jaune felt sad to hear the Faunus demean herself from simple implications. His empathy, more sympathy as once an infamous weakling, enforced his need to make Velvet feel better. "But you were doing in the fight today with the Dust you had. Plus, the two from Atlas aren't exactly on the same level as a Beowulf."

"I can understand that much," coughed Velvet as she righted her stance. "Sorry, I'm not sure where that came from. Maybe it's just from today's exhaustion."

"Or you could have felt bad, but didn't have anyone to talk about it until you met me." Jaune turned around so his arms and chest could take the place of where his back's spot. "I used to feel the same way back when I first started. If it wasn't for my friends, then I'd probably do something crazy like talk to Cardin even if he's just going to use this kind of info against me."

Velvet nodded as she understood the boy's intentions for his comment. "Yes, being alone in your problems can be somewhat… painful. But it's still terrible for me to present my troubles to you like this."

"Not at all, we're friends." Jaune meant his words as he remembered accepting Velvet's hand of friendship. It was why he worried and cared for the Faunus, felt the need to at least let her know she wasn't alone. "And as friends, it's fine that we can be open with each other like this, right?"

"I suppose it does. Then for my part, it would be fair to ask what's troubling you, Jaune. You couldn't have really followed any stranger here unless you were trying to distract yourself from your troubles." Velvet's curious gaze showed she meant no harm, although it made the boy in question feel nervous as he became the focus of inquiry.

Despite not wanting it this way, Jaune felt compelled to say something as he made Velvet share her own troubles. Holding back his tongue would have made him the practitioner of the evil known as hypocrisy.

"Kind of. Really, a lot has happened yesterday and today." Memories of recent events had Jaune sigh out loud from exhaustion. "I know you'll find this out eventually, but…well, I kind of helped Blake and the others stop someone from the White Fang."

"That sounds terrible. Did everyone else come out alright?" The Faunus showcased concern, a trademark that was recognized by the male blonde.

"Several people got hurt, but nobody died. The only one who seems to be in danger is the White Fang member because…she's also a student of this school." Jaune saw that his news made his listener have her eyes widen with the expected emotion of fear. "When someone like her is found doing this kind of thing, it's going to make everyone get into trouble, including Atlas since a Paladin was involved. It's just…a lot of chaos is bound to come out of this. Knowing this worries me so much that I can't sleep. It reminded me that I still have no idea on how to do this mission that might help end all of these troubles."

Jaune allowed his friend to be silent as he knew his words were a lot to take in. Even he found it hard to believe that so much happened in only a few days.

Finally, Velvet said, "That is quite a summary of what happened. I can only imagine unless they decide to keep this from the public, Beacon will become embroiled in the current issues."

"The word is already spreading." With his simple answer, Jaune continued, "None of the Atlas soldiers who came told the other students to stay quiet. Knowing people in our age group, one of them is bound to share what they know with their friends. Not sure why; maybe it's just to gain attention for knowing something new in our lives."

"They might also try to spread this information to either benefit or detriment the Normal Coalition." Velvet took this as her turn to let a soft sigh escape from her closed lips. "This can really set a disturbing future for all of us if the conflict finds a new way to spread its destructive influence."

Jaune nodded as he felt a mixture of pain and relief from talking to Velvet. Although he felt bad for not takikng this to Pyrrha first, he ended up saying what was stuck to almost every corner of his mind. The only problem was that he only vented, not think of a plan that would have let him find relief in deep slumber.

"Professor Ozpin told me I'll eventually find events that'll involve me to take care of. Do you think it's cases like this where I need to start getting an idea on what to do?" The leader of Juniper peered at the brown bunny to see her stare back at him with her eyes of dark chocolate.

"Perhaps, but he couldn't have left it so ambiguous. My team leader is already thinking of the specific missions we would need to take so we could do our part." Velvet smiled as her long ears bent down at different paces. "Was there something else he might have said that could help? Looking at his words from a different angle might be better than remain confused from your current viewpoint."

Jaune went into deep thought as he realized his friend was right. He also regretted leaving Lou behind as the jewel could have helped him make a discovery since it was also present during their conversation with Ozpin. Relying on his own efforts, the blonde eventually pinpointed one memory that had him almost berate himself for missing a crucial factor.

The headmaster clearly stated that the current situation was caused by the White Fang's rampant activities. He also made it clear that the organization's shutdown would give the Humans and Faunus no reason to be hostile towards the other anymore.

Yes, Ozpin could have been clearer with this message. However, Jaune understood that as leader, he should have been able to see the bigger picture since he was the only one given free will to do what he believed would be the right course of action. This sudden epiphany also helped him think of the first step that has alluded him until now.

"You're right." Finished with his long train of thought, Jaune faced Velvet with confident eyes. "And I just found out what I need to do from now on. Thanks Velvet, your advice helped me out so much!" The boy felt a silly smile crease across his lips.

Velvet seemed to share the feeling as she made a soft grin. "I'm glad I was able to help. For someone like you, it's important that you're able to make progress in what you do."

"Like me?" Calming down from his euphoria, Jaune looked at his friend while he walked away from the balcony's stony edge. "Well, I'm not exactly that important. I'm just another guy trying to get the job done." Despite the awkwardness of his phrase, the boy said it since he was careful on showcasing his attitude. This was out of fear from any effect Lou might have given from its attempt to mold him into an 'ideal' hero.

"But you're not just anyone. Since yesterday, your decisions have been affecting much more than any of us may be seeing. For me, nothing you've done has been terrible…in fact, I'm grateful that a good person like you is able to make these changes by your will." Velvet slowly walked up to Jaune to where both bodies were somewhat close. For the blonde's case, he was glad that Lou wasn't here to make this another unnecessary moment of innuendo.

The rabbit pulled back as if she finished inspecting her human friend. "So if you don't mind me asking, what is the first step towards the goal you have in mind?"

Jaune sighed as one hand scratched his head. "I think my team and I should later try to see what the White Fang is up to and stop them from causing trouble. And the only one who could give that information is the one that attacked us with the Paladin. Talking to her might be a problem if Atlas won't let just anybody go and meet her."

Before Jaune could think any further, he noticed a shadow whiz by the windows of the far hallway from his position outside the building. Seeing that the entity was heading their way, the blonde pulled his friend behind him and raised his hand. Even if Lou wasn't with him, he understood his ability to use certain Aura attacks were still at his command to use.

The prepared male didn't have a chance to use them as he identified the shadow that came through the doorway and stood in front of him and Velvet. "Blake?! What are you doing here?"

"Move!" Blake commanded as she pushed the two away before jumping over the balcony's edge. Shocked by this action, Jaune and Velvet ran up to the edge only to see that the cat Faunus was hanging onto the platform's lowest edge. Hanging on for dear life, she whispered, "Act normal. Just wait for them to pass by."

The two friends didn't understand this until they heard footsteps come to a stop near the doorway. Both heads turned to see teenagers of their age in Atlas uniforms standing near them. They were no doubt chasing Blake for something she did, something that Jaune hoped didn't cross any lines."

"Hey, did you two see someone pass by here? The person was wearing something attached to the top of their head." One Atlas student placed his hands onto head, an imagery to indicate where the said accessory would have been at. "He or she tried to break into an authorized area. By school and Atlas regulations, that person is now considered another suspect possibly working for the White Fang."

Jaune was impressed that Blake managed to keep her appearance a secret from the eyes of these two sentries. He wished she didn't have to bring them here when he was having a good time with Velvet.

His mind going into overdrive, Jaune realized that he had to ward off the students looking around the balcony. Whether or not Blake was still hanging onto the edge she was last seen at, he couldn't take the chance of the Atlas members discovering any trace of her during their investigation.

"No, we didn't see anyone. Right Velvet? It's just the two of us up here." Jaune was relieved to see Velvet nod, a sign that she was going to help him out. Keeping calm, he continued, "Yep, nothing happening here. You two should probably check other places before the culprit gets away."

One of the Atlas members gave Velvet a hard look. Out of nowhere he turned to his taller friend and said, "Wait, two ears on the top of your head and a feminine figure with long legs. Do you think it's this one?"

"I think so. It makes more sense of it's a Faunus that tried to break into the area." The other member stepped towards the bunny, who appeared nervous as she was now made a suspect for the committed crime.

Seeing this, Jaune stepped in front of Velvet so the approaching student couldn't grab her as intended. "No, she's definitely not your person. She was with me up here the entire time. She couldn't have done anything elsewhere if she was with me the entire time."

"That's the thing. Several of us were chasing this person for a while, so the time frame would have been enough for her to hide up in this part of the school." The first member of Atlas had an eyebrow raised that showed he wasn't impressed by the given explanation. "Plus, we know who you are, Jaune Arc. Any kind of alibi from you isn't convincing since you would probably support the Faunus over any of us from Atlas."

The boy panicked as the larger man standing in front of him pushed his body to the side. Still hesitant to take action, Jaune saw that the Atlas punk had a hand grab Velvet by her ear. The oppressor's strength was apparently enough to make the rabbit yelp out in pain.

So much fury filled Jaune to where he yelled, "Hey, let go of her!" At the same time, he channeled Aura into his hand before he punched at the captor's arm so Velvet's ear could be freed. Standing in front his friend again, Jaune slowed his breathing after he saw that both Atlas students stood at a distance with arms up at ready. Unsure of what to do, his mind somehow drifted to Lou. Shockingly, this had him consider one way that might work things out for him despite the humiliation and misunderstandings this might make among the others.

"W-wait, sorry about that. If it helps, I'll tell you the truth." Jaune paused to regain his composure while his mind tried to think of an alternative that was non-existent. "I led Velvet up here because…we were spending some quality time together. Tonight seemed pretty romantic, so both of us just had to spend some personal time up here."

Nobody spoke as the unexpected news made them speechless. Jaune glanced at Velvet and inwardly apologized for what he was about to do.

"Yeah, we were having a date. There's nothing wrong with me dating a Faunus, is there?" Jaune's final words had the Atlas boys gawk at him before looking each other. Holding his breath, the liar hoped his words made this embarrassing moment worth it. If not, then he would have failed and embarrassed the one friend he wished wasn't in risk of being punished.

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A/N: Darn, the moment had to be ruined when Atlas arrived (am I just making them seem like worse people with this?)

Anyhoo, it's been fun to se that Lou may have been influencing Jaune since he had to think faking a date would chase the two away. Will it work? Will it not? Any thoughts to share on how ridiculous the circumstances have become?


	13. From Shadows to Light

Chapter 13: From Shadows to Light

A/N: For my reviewers, this is the reason why I didn't reply to your comments. I was busy trying to get this finished by today. I'll be sure to reply again since the next chapter is going to get here by next week.

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One of the Atlas kids raised a hand in an apologetic manner. "So you two are dating? Seriously? Sorry about that, didn't mean to interrupt." The second one backed away, no longer interested in apprehending Velvet.

"It's alright. You two were just doing your jobs." Jaune kept his arm around his 'girlfriend' and maintained a smile. "With all of this Faunus and Human tension going around, it's tough to find better times like now. Isn't that right, dear?"

Velvet nodded as she scooted closer to Jaune's body. Her sweet scent reminded the blonde of a wonderful piece of cake he once ate. "Y-yes love and I'm sorry about this. I was persistent about us spending time together. Exploring our relationship may have been better at the city after all."

Jaune felt his heart tear into two as Velvet's words made it sound like she was taking the blame for creating this development. However, this act worked to their advantage as the Atlas members displayed signs of guilt.

"N-no, we have nothing against your relationship. We'll continue our search elsewhere." When the first turned to leave, the second remained still as he looked around one last time to survey the area. Once he was done, both boys left so the 'lovebirds' could be alone.

Once he was sure that the coast was clear, Jaune let out the breath he unconsciously held in his lungs. Taking in air, he felt calm as his impromptu plan worked out for the best. He kept in mind that he made this appear like a ruined moment between lovers, something the Atlas teenagers wouldn't have known how to handle due to their inexperience with such relationships.

"There's no rush, but you can let go of me now."

Jaune looked at his side to see that he still had his arm around Velvet. Feeling embarrassed for not noticing sooner, he gently pulled his limb off and stepped away so to give some breathing room. "Sorry, didn't mean to hold on for so long. Wasn't sure if they'd be convinced without something to show for it."

The boy felt stupid for his nervous laughter. His attempt to pass this off as a light matter didn't make his awkwardness disappear. However, Velvet was the total opposite when she lightly smiled at Jaune's exaggerated expression. "It's alright. You actually did fine since I couldn't think of a plan that could work so well."

"Really? Alright, glad you understand," Jaune said as he calmed down. When he tried to move over to see if Blake was fine, he noticed one of Velvet's ears were crooked. Remembering the injury was from when the Atlas punk grabbedher, he aimed a finger up and asked, "Are you going to be okay?"

"Yes, this is nothing for me." Velvet had her hands raised so she could stroke the damaged ear. Her pained gasp didn't escape Jaune's hearing. "There's no concern, especially when this was simply an accident."

"Accident or not, they should have been nicer to you." The blonde's eyes became sad as he realized there wasn't much else he could do. He and his friend were too tired to use Aura from their long day of fighting. "A Faunus's ears can be really sensitive because of the inside nerves. Wouldn't that make yours the same, especially when they're so long?"

Velvet's other ear perked up, a sign that she was surprised. "Well, I can't disagree that my ears are somewhat tender, but how did you know this? Not many people would care about such details."

"I had several Faunus friends in the past." Jaune shrugged his shoulders to show his past relations to a different ethnicity weren't a big deal to him. "Even if we couldn't stay for long, it was fun being with them and I got to know a lot like the thing about your ears."

"So you've had Faunus friends when you were a child? Wouldn't there have been riots back then?"

"Yeah, Human and Faunus relations weren't really stable during those times. Still, it was good times because that's when I saw Faunus weren't exactly that much different from humans." During his answer, Jaune wasn't sure why Velvet appeared pleasantly surprised.

With a hand on her chest, the rabbit sighed, "That's quite a peculiar past you have, Jaune. It may explain why you haven't shown any discomfort when you're around people like me."

"Not just anyone. There's also you, someone who's not so much different from me." Jaune smiled as he felt his being become empowered from his thoughts of camaraderie. "Getting to know you since yesterday has been great, Velvet. I just wish we got to know each other since I first came here. It would have been nice; we probably could have done something about Cardin if we were together more often."

This spoken statement had Velvet slightly lower her head so her bangs could cover the eyes. "You couldn't mean that. Back then, I wasn't very useful to people. If I couldn't even stand up to Cardin as his senior, then what good am I?"

"The good is that we would still be together," Jaune quickly stated. These words were apparently enough to make his friend raise her head so the boy could see her eyes. "The two of us didn't have to be the best at fighting or studying. All we had to do for each other is share our thoughts and concerns. We did just that a while ago. Thanks to you, I finally know what I need to do starting tomorrow morning."

When the blonde talker let his comment sink in, he suddenly felt embarrassed for saying them. Part of this emotion came from the realization that several of his words were from said by an inspirational tv show, a fictional character. It's this train of thought that didn't prepare him for the hopeful gaze that Velvet sent his way.

"Really? That's all you would expect from me as we spend more time together in the future?"

"Well of course not. That's what friends are for, right?" After asking this question, Jaune saw Velvet cross her legs as her arms went across her full chest. To see her like this in her incomplete uniform ignited desire in the depths of the teenage boy's heart. While the moonlight and starry sky could have been blamed for setting the mood, he couldn't deny that his friend's reliance on him brought out his confidence as a man. This state didn't help how he was viewing the shy Faunus as a beautiful creature.

"It doesn't seem fair for you to do so much for me without gaining something of equal value." For some reason, the rabbit bit her lip as she finished, "If any kind of favor ever comes to your mind, then don't be afraid to tell me. I'll do my best to make sure the two of us come out satisfied from what we do together."

Jaune knew this would have been a time when Lou would have given another lewd misinterpretation. Glad for the absence of the talking necklace, he still couldn't respond as his own mind wandered to what he could really do with the Faunus's willingness.

He stopped himself when his mind veered towards those of the indecent nature. Jaune blamed this thinking process on Lou as the boy never considered using anyone for such purposes. Unfortunately, he was only somewhat sure while another part of him felt blood flowing towards the lower regions of his body.

"Velvet, you may need to reconsider your statement." The voice came from Blake as she climbed over the balcony's railing and stood near the other teenagers. With hands on her hips, she continued, "Even if it is coming from a soft person like him, he could always take advantage of you as a male."

When Jaune made eye contact with the black cat, he could see that she was onto him about his troubling desires. Even if he did display good intentions, Blake was going to keep an eye on him as she also has some kind of relationship with her fellow kind and gender.

"Oh, Blake!" Velvet yelped. "I'm sorry, we forgot to tell you to come up. Are you alright?"

"I'm fine. Really, I wasn't expecting the two of you to cover me since I had a different escape planned. Don't trouble yourselves about my well-being." Saying her strange form of a 'thank you,' Blake began to walk towards the balcony's double doors. Wondering how the rogue Faunus got into trouble earlier, Jaune asked, "So why were those two chasing you? Did you do something wrong?"

"That depends. While Velvet here may understand, you'll probably think otherwise since it's going against your new Atlas friends." With her small insult, Blake tried to walk on to make her exit, but Velvet stood in her way. Appearing frustrated, the cat said, "Can you please move? I have no intention of explaining myself."

Velvet shook her head while her frown showed disapproval of her younger friend's reaction. "If you're going off to cause more trouble, then I can't let you go. What had me more concerned is how you tried to break into a restricted area. Why would you do such a thing when Atlas is already suspicious enough of our people?"

Blake resorted to silence while her arms crossed to put up an emotional barrier. Unfazed by this, Jaune walked up next to Velvet and said, "If you tell us your reason, we might be able to help. I'm even more curious as to why you broke the rules when you don't normally do so."

"I said there's nothing to talk about. Besides, if I achieve my objective, then it's better if you two remain out of this." Blake's revealed concern had the others trade worried expressions with each other.

"Are you pushing yourself again?" Jaune asked. "If you are, you'll end up worrying most of us like the last time."

The cat Faunus shook her head. "This is different, and I don't plan on doing this alone. You and Velvet shouldn't be involved since the two of you have your own plans."

Jaune shook his head. "Velvet does, but I'm free. And if we're thinking on the same page, I might have a solution that could help you out."

"Okay, let me rephrase that. Velvet can't come because she's busy. You, on the other hand, should stay out of my way." When Blake saw her words surprised her listeners, her amber eyes glared at the blonde with sudden hatred. "People already consider you an attentive subject of sorts because you were at the right place and time to deserve that kind of attention. If you have this kind of status while meddling in my affairs, you'll end up ruining something along the way."

Jaune nodded as the reasoning was sound; his presence might end up attracting the wrong attention, especially if the Faunus was trying to do good. However, some part of him felt Blake's issue involved something, or someone, else. "Is that really it? Aren't you more bothered by the fact that Steele and Penny, people from Atlas, are kind of like my friends?"

"I…fine. Yes, that's what is bothering me the most about you right now." With an unusual tone of sass, the black cat sighed while Jaune felt some pride from his correct deduction. "I admit, my dislike of Atlas is obvious, but it's based on good reasons. Do I need to remind you it's them and the Schnee Company who made those killing machines? The worst is how their lack of supervision is letting criminals, the White Fang, get their hands on them to cause destruction like the one we dealt with today."

Ever the insightful Faunus, Blake made points that also bothered Jaune for a while. He figured there were some things off, but he didn't have enough information to consider who the bad guy was in this case. While he didn't consider having such thoughts, he saw that his involvement with Penny and Steele disturbed the brunette enough to have her consider him a problem.

"Blake, would it bother you if I said that I'm not really on anybody's side?" Jaune said this as he felt guilty that his intentions weren't clear for people like Blake. "During the past few days, a lot happened to me. I tried to keep up, deal with each issue without causing too much trouble for the others. People saw this and apparently, a lot of them tried to label me as a guy fighting for one side and going against the other."

The blonde noticed he also had the rabbit's attention. Seeing this had him turn his head towards her way and add, "Velvet also got caught along the way. Seeing a friend in trouble wanted me to help her. Right after that, I got into a meeting with Steele and found out he attacked her out of a misunderstanding."

"Get to the point. We can't stay here for long," Blake snapped as voices became audible from a distant area.

"What I'm saying is that if you're trying to figure something out, I can help you since I'm not doing this to have one side get an advantage over the other. So…you can expect my help or at least trust me enough to support you in some way." Jaune said his comment with pleading eyes as he didn't want to have bad relations with the Faunus of Team Ruby. Another part of him felt the need to show his good side to the beauty of darkness, one whose mysterious origins and charming grace peaked some of his interest in her.

Finally, Blake said, "Alright, but under one condition. If I ever get into trouble in anyway, I frankly don't care because it's my fault for trusting you." Speaking with a low voice, she slowly came closer in a manner that reminded Jaune of a creeping predator. "My team, however, is a different case. If this ever gets back to them in any way, you'll regret for being a man who isn't worth the value he's carrying."

"And the worst part is that you'll never see me coming." Stepping back, Blake raised up an arm to show she had a Scroll between her fingers. This made Jaune check his pocket to realize his was missing. Nodding to show he understood, he said, "I got it, you made your point. Can I have that back?"

When she gave the Scroll back to its owner, Blake stated, "Any lower and you would have permanently lost something precious. Just remember I'll be going for that first if you disregard my promise with your action."

"S-sure." Jaune unconsciously crossed his legs and wondered if Blake was always like this. His next thought wondered if his newfound friendship with Penny and Steele was worth keeping if it meant facing more of Blake's wrath in the coming future. He glanced at the silent Velvet to see that she appeared frightened, meaning the cat didn't show this dangerous side except towards the ones that may have pissed her off.

"Alright, there's one more thing to take care of before we talk." Blake got into a comfortable stance as she gave Velvet a soft expression. "Go back to your dorm. If Jaune helps me and we both get caught along the way, I'd rather not have you and your team bear the punishment with us."

Velvet shook her head in a defiant way, something that even Jaune could tell wasn't common for the timid rabbit. "Then isn't it better to let me have the details? During or after the mission, you two can count on me to be a sort of backup. If that time is to come, I won't let any of you down."

Jaune felt glad that the member of Team Coffee was trying to be supportive, which reminded him of their recent conversation. He knew Velvet desired to be of help, an emotion he also shared since he wished to become a hero. "Blake, she has a point. She could help us as an older classmate. With her on our side, we can even take care of the matters that come after talking with the Faunus who rode that Paladin today."

"So you did know I tried to sneak in to talk to that pilot." Blake's tone and her calm mannerism gave the impression that she was impressed by Jaune's deduction. "Then is the solution you mentioned related to my problem? I…We need to talk to her. We have to know what she knows before things get worse."

Jaune smiled as he heard not malice, but trust in Blake's words. "Yeah, I do." He lost his joy after remembering that his solution wasn't going to be comfortable for the cat. "And to be clear, you trust me, right? Because this next part is a good option, but it's not going to make you very happy."

"That depends," were the cold words that made the young Arc feel like he may as well be castrated the moment he said his plan. He didn't like how Blake also sounded like she knew what was coming when she said, "I hope this plan of yours isn't going to involve one of your new friends."

"You may also want to consider your old friends too, Jaune."

The new voice had everyone whip their heads around at an alarming rate. They saw standing at the balcony's double doors was Pyrrha, who was wearing her red tank top and black shorts. With hair still down, she could have appeared lovely had it not been for the rifle she had in her hand. While the warrior wasn't aiming the gun at anyone, the sight still made Jaune feel even more nervous than before.

"Well? Care to explain why your restroom time involves meeting two girls on the balcony alone?" Pyrrha showed no signs of cheering up as her frown slanted down to the point of no return. She was obviously looking for her partner, who she found to be safe and relaxed rather than in the expected peril. "And why are there Atlas people running all over the place? Did you start another fight with them again or is there more going on?"

Jaune could see he had more to explain to his partner who just arrived. He would have saved it for later, but he was stopped when Blake turned her attention back onto him with her eyes. The Faunus was still waiting for her answer; she didn't seem to be in a hurry despite how she was still a criminal on the run.

Feeling trapped, the poor leader realized he was going to suffer one consequence after another. If things couldn't get worse, his eyes managed to catch a piece of Lou, the necklace that was hanging from Pyrrha's neck.

" **I was about to congratulate you Jaune, but it looks like you're deep in the crap hole. One advice, try to make the dangerous one happy so the other one could dish out the lesser pain."**

* * *

A/N: So what is Jaune's solution? What does Blake believe is his solution? And is Pyrrha really angry for the right reasons? Till next week, we can only hope things will go well for the blonde.


	14. Morning Oddities

Chapter 14: Morning Oddities

A/N: Here with this chapter. And I got to say, I hope you readers can trust me since the elements in this part of the story is crucial for one upcoming scene.

* * *

" **You okay, Jaune? From my readings, your Aura is kind of fluctuating there. Sleeping must have been a pain in the ass…deserved it too, you stupid prick."**

The addressed blonde groaned as he rubbed his aching neck while he walked down Beacon's lit halls in his combat attire. _"Can we not talk about this? You're reminding me how I even got this ache in the first place."_

" **Kind of your fault. I knew you couldn't make them both happy, so you should have focused on making one of the ladies satisfied. But what did you do? Tell the truth; you should have lied through those baby teeth of yours and make the gullible one find out about the real events later."**

Jaune inwardly disproved of the given advice while he rounded a corner. _"If I lied, that would have made things worse. You can't count on evil to create a good situation."_

" **But it could have given you time, dumbass. If they were still mad, you could have thought of a plan where each of them would have been confronted at different times. Take one to a restaurant and the other to a bookstore. Instead, you told Blake about your plan to talk to Steele, which made her give you the pissy silent treatment during your call to that soldier boy. Pyrrha was angry because your 'side-tracking' made her wait for nothing. Probably why she gave you that death-grip when the two of you finally turned in for the night."**

Jaune felt his eyes feel sore when he remembered waking up this morning with the pain in his neck. " _Well, we probably should have thought of something that's better than your suggestion."_

" **Sorry kid, but my way is better than your direct approach to handle situations."** Sounding genuinely concerned, Lou continued, **"I want you to have a good heart, kid, but you need to learn how to navigate through these things. You need to understand that sometimes, the lesser of evils is the one that can get you out of situations, you stupid mama's boy. Sure, the ladies love your goodie personality, but they're going to get annoyed of it if you can't separate it from this naïve personality of yours."**

This remark had Jaune feel like his talking necklace was putting an effort in giving him legitimate advice. While he was still against it, the boy was somewhat glad that Lou still had good intentions. He almost forgot that the jewel came into his life so it could assist its master.

" _I'll think on it...it sounds like it's worth trying someday."_

" **Screw that, it's going to happen. Remember? I'm the family heirloom that's old enough to be your grandpa's dad? Maybe a little older, but just know that age comes with wisdom and I am giving the motherload to you, ya stinking whippersnapper!"**

Jaune almost chuckled as he understood that Lou was saying something more of a joke than an insult. He preferred this kind of attitude rather than the times the necklace tried to resort to its unusual ways. His jovial thoughts stopped when he turned one more corner to find a sight that he did not want to see before the real work began.

" **Ooh, Steele and Blake are having a stare-off. Fight, fight, bitch slap the hell out of each other!"**

Jaune winced at Lou's juvenile cheering as he cautiously approached the two teenagers, each leaning on opposite walls. He noticed their eyes were on each other; blinks and moving eyelids indicated that an invisible war was already going on between them.

"Morning everyone." Jaune waved his hand with his greeting. He only saw Steele nod while Blake, in her own normal clothes, made no reaction to the blonde. Glad that nothing hostile has occurred, the newcomer asked, "So are we ready to go inside?"

"Yeah, but you better make it quick. Telling my guys to go escort the coming interrogation team isn't keeping them away forever." Steele's voice gained the attention of Juniper's leader, who saw the captain's gray sweatpants and white, sleeveless shirt that revealed grand, chiseled muscles underneath. "And I'll stay out here as promised since we already discussed how the two of you can get answers out of her than I could. That is unless, you have any objections Blake. Just want to know so we can get all issues out of the way."

The silent Faunus slowly shook her head as the captain repeated what was discussed last night in a conversation involving Scrolls. Jaune was glad that the cat calmed down afterwards, although he wished Velvet could have joined them. She sounded sad when she left behind a voicemail that said she and her team were leaving around this time to go on a mission. Then there was his own team, who were still sleeping as they weren't needed to wake up during this ungodly hour.

" **Dude, focus. Seriously, why do you keep on thinking about that bunny when there are other choices to consider!"**

Hearing Lou's snappy, mental response had Jaune return, _"That reminds me, what is your problem with Velvet? She's been nothing but sweet and considerate with me."_

" **And that's the problem. You're better off not getting attached to that kind of person for your own good. All that does is bring you the kind of trouble you might not be able to handle someday."**

Jaune noticed that Lou seemed off character with its last comment. Before he could ask about it, he heard a cough that came from Steele while Blake had an eyebrow raised at the blonde.

"Did you hear us? We're ready to go in when you are." The male soldier yawned and stretched his toned limbs so they could crack from sweet relief. Seeing this caused Jaune to feel somewhat envious and impressed at the same time. As a growing boy himself, Jaune just wished he could reach the kind of figure that Steele had, which may be happening according to his friends' earlier remarks.

Yet, Jaune didn't understand why this thought made him feel sensitive to Blake's opinion about his worth, his'manliness' as Lou would have put it. Finishing this thought had him notice that a yellow blur was running towards them from the opposite end of the hall. A closer look had him recognize long, golden hair and steampunk clothes that could only belong to another person he knew.

"Found you Blake!"

The frustrated yelling had Jaune confirm that the newcomer was Yang Xiaolong, the luscious brawler of Team Ruby. Seeing that she came uninvited, the blonde boy remained quiet as the female team members conversed with one another.

"Really? Then why didn't you bother to tell us what you were doing earlier?" Yang demanded as she set her hands onto her curvy hips. "We thought you were overdoing it again when you were gone for a good part of the night."

"This time is different. Once I had enough information, I was going to bring it to all of you so we could work on it together." Finished answering, Blake sighed as she seemed to be stressed from the likelihood that her team found out her actions too early.

Yang seemed to notice this as she said, "Fine, but we're going to start on that the day after you get a good night's sleep." She then turned to Jaune and added, "But I didn't expect to see you here. It looks like the rumors are right; some guys were thinking that you might have been up to something after everything you've been involved with."

"If you're talking about those fight and news videos, give him a break," Steele yawned. After covering his open mouth with one hand, he became more lax as his tension from talking to Blake seemed to have disappeared. "That three-against-one and Paladin fight were just good rumbles, so don't stress him out over honorifics and duties he doesn't need to worry about."

"Wasn't going to since Blink-it made all this mislabeling really annoying." After mentioning their school's online bulletin board, the blonde cowgirl smiled as she made eye contact with the captain. "And you must be the hardass soldier, Captain Hartbreaker. I saw your handiwork the other day; your fight with some friends riled up my partner over there."

Steele didn't seem to mind Yang's words, especially when they were said in a calm manner. "It was all a mistake and I said my apologies. If you still have a problem, you better know I'm not going to let you badmouth me in any way."

"No worries, I heard what really happened. If Blake here hadn't wandered off, I could have told her before she had her little talk with you back on that rooftop." Ever resourceful thanks to info given by others, the perky girl winked at the male brunette to show her light-hearted attitude. "So it looks like you're going to wait for these two to finish. I'll be doing the same, so mind having me around?"

"Not at all, you seem cool unlike someone else who had the nerve to start an impossible debate." Steele glanced at Blake after his angry remark. Switching to Jaune, he asked "Still a little dazed or are you ready?"

"We are and we won't take long. Let's go, Blake." Jaune opened the metallic door and presented it to the Faunus with one hand like a gentleman. Once the brunette was inside, he slowly closed the door behind him while keeping his curious gaze onto Yang as she took up a spot next to Steele's place. This made him wonder how exactly things would develop for both the captain and cowgirl from this point onwards.

" **Kid, worry about that later. Getting distracted in front of your kitty missus isn't considered a good attitude."**

Lou's remark had Jaune see he was inside a large room. The place had several, open hallways show doors at their ends. The entire premise had him feel emptiness and gloom that had him realize this place was one of Beacon's detention rooms, a place that would make a good makeshift prison for the person they were heading for.

Jaune pointed a finger at a door that looked slightly different from the others by its larger design. "I think she's in there. Let's hurry and ask her our questions before the soldiers get back."

"I'm sorry." This sudden remark had Jaune turn to make sure it was coming from Blake, which it was. As if shy from the boy's curious gaze, the Faunus averted her gaze and continued, "The past few days have been tough for me. Just when there was the White Fang to worry about, Atlas comes in and applies restrictions for the Faunus who didn't do anything. Their actions make me feel like I'm being encaged…maybe this is coming from the fact that past run-ins with their military didn't make a lot of fond memories with them."

Jaune was slightly surprised to hear the cat give her this kind of confessions. "I guess that explains some things, but why tell me now?"

"Because you were patient and resourceful," Blake admitted. "Of all people I expected help from, you willingly gave this peaceful option of meeting the one from the White Fang. After all of this, you…deserve some kind of an explanation…really more of an apology."

Despite how the last phrase came off as a whisper, Jaune still heard each word spoken by the hesitating brunette. He knew apologizing wasn't something Blake would do often since she hardly had a legit reason to do so. It's this rarity why he appreciated the effort while another part of him felt the cat was being unusually shy in an adorable way.

" **Lookie here, the bitch actually said sorry. Hm, you think she'd do more by inviting you to dinner."**

Jaune used a hand to grip Lou's crystal form as he smiled at the Faunus. "I don't think there's a reason for an apology, but it's nice to know you care. Honestly, I didn't expect it because you're never so open about your feelings like this."

"You're wrong thinking this is my way of being open." With her gentle retort, Blake's eyes narrowed into sharp ones that left imaginary daggers in the boy. "It's the right thing to do. Don't assume we're the best of friends once this is over."

"Then can we start being friends? Now might as well be a better time than later, right?" asked the fear-ridden Jaune. Still unsure if the Faunus was angry at him, he slowly walked up to their destination with her. He noticed Blake seemed surprise, which meant his question either shocked her out of her foul mood or she didn't have any hard feelings in the first place.

When the two were in front of the door, the Faunus finally answered, "We'll see, although we hardly talk when the others are around."

"Then we can hang out, just the two of us. I'll even set up the times because there are tons of things to do in the school and…city." Jaune's last word made him feel an unusual amount of confidence in his entire being. This came off as strange, a paralyzing discovery, as the boy had this emotion while he was making an offer that could have been mistaken more for a date than a friendly outing.

" **Wow, didn't expect that out of you so soon. Hubba hubba, looks like someone is already trying to get into the pants of this pussycat. What's next, a stop by the litterbox alley so you two could get down and dirty?"**

"I guess we can try that later. Just stay focused for now; I don't know how we spent so much time on this kind of conversation."

Blake's words had Jaune blush as it seemed like the cat answered Lou's question instead of his own. The necklace's laughter ringing throughout his head made it hard for him to maintain composure as he and the Faunus entered a room that was mostly dark. The only light came from a hanging lamp, the sole source of illumination that showed a table and chair occupied by the female Paladin pilot from yesterday.

Coming closer to the table, Jaune had a clearer view of the White Fang member's dark-blue cat ears and hair. The girl still had on her school uniform of brown, white, and black clothes. What stood out the most to the boy was the girl's golden eyes that didn't meet his or his partner's eyes.

"Now they're sending the two of you to do their dirty work? Who's next, Oobleck so he could talk my ear off?" The cat of the White Fang leaned back until her chair was on its last two legs. Her hands were placed on her back, giving the indication that her arms were bound to limit her options of escape.

Blake shook her head and pulled up another chair from a wall so she could sit on the table's other side. "If you're talking about Atlas, we're not working for them. We're here to ask some simple questions that will help us in our own endeavors."

As Jaune sat in his own obtained chair, he figured that his current partner would be using a firm, comforting voice to appear associable towards her fellow Faunus. He founds this to be kind and wise of Blake to do, which was why he frowned after the blue-haired girl stated, "I'm not giving anything to a softie like you, so get out of here already."

"Softie?" Jaune asked as the word didn't seem right for Blake, a creature of darkness. "Why do you call her that?"

"Because my 'sister' here has quite the nerve to pretend that she's Human; hanging out with a guy from that disgusting species is already convincing me that she's after the softer meat of nature's food chain." Using 'sister' to denote that she and Blake were of the same species, the blue feline blew a part of the bangs that covered her eyes. "Sad, I bet you're one of the sick hypocrites who think having a hybrid love-child is going to help you get more accepted into this society."

"L-love-child?!" Jaune exclaimed from intense shock while his hands dug deep into his hair. "Wa-wait, the two of us aren't in that kind of relationship if that's what you're thinking."

" **Shut up, doofus."** Lou's interruption made the boy go from surprise to confusion until the necklace said, **"She's just saying that to rile the two of you up. See? Grinning like a stinking Chesire cat. Probably a bad move since Blake here isn't looking so patient with her 'sibling,' so you might want to step away from the bloodbath zone."**

Jaune slowly glanced at his side to see his Faunus associate don an intimidating Aura, a thin layer of black energy surrounding her body. He also saw that her fists were balled to where veins appeared all over the somewhat pale hands. This was a time that he was really glad that they didn't bring their weapons to display their intention of no harm, although that may change in the next few moments.

"Don't…place that kind of stereotype on me." Voice strained, Blake managed to keep her cool appearance. "And don't try to avoid the question by throwing us off. I know you've been here for more than a year, so that would make you our senior, Aqua."

Jaune became more attentive as his brunette partner just revealed the name of the imprisoned White Fang member. "So your name's Aqua? This is the first time I've heard of it. You never seemed to have taken classes with us like another friend of ours did."

"And that's my point. Aqua here always had a record of focusing on her studies so she could rise through the school rankings faster with her team. She had no reason to join the White Fang until they came to the city just a few months ago." Back to her trademark calmness, Blake crossed her arms while her studious gaze never left the one in question. "And last night, you didn't even bother escaping or struggling to the end like the rest would have done. What is your real reason for causing all of this trouble in the first place?"

The silent Arc lad could see that Aqua deteriorated from silent anger to a show of anxiety. While Blake had still yet to back her words with solid evidence, her implications making this reaction out of the older Faunus revealed one fact that everyone in the room could see.

Aqua was recently recruited into the White Fang, thus she shouldn't have had any issues with Humans when she was able to live her life in peace until now. While the 'why' was still a mystery, Blake made the point that the girl wasn't sent here to destroy the humans with the Paladin. There was a different reason for such recklessness, something that only she would do as someone understood to be under the control of the anti-Human syndicate.

These discoveries made Jaune feel bad because the current event was going in an unexpected direction. He believed they were going to find a way to get the location of Aqua's boss or base and take out the source of evil. The boy didn't want to interrogate their prisoner to the point where she had to be this uncomfortable. Despite understanding the necessity to know the Faunus's reasoning, the situation didn't suit well with the kinder parts of his soul.

"It's good if we did know your reasons, but you can save them for another time." Jaune saw that his words had the blue-haired Faunus look in his direction. "We just need to know where your boss or group is in the city. If you tell us, we plan on taking care of it with the right people. You don't have to worry about any military involvement or prejudice; we're going to try and make it fair for everyone."

Jaune saw that Blake sent a dagger at him with her sharp eyes. Although he felt wounded from this action, he remained firm in his belief to give relief for Aqua rather than pressure her into doing more than necessary.

"The several of you take on the White Fang? You're really stupid enough to try and take them on without a Hunter?" Aqua didn't sound very pleased, more from the fact that her juniors were placing their lives on the line. "I can't believe I had to listen to that. You two just had to make me like this before those idiots arrived."

To everyone's surprise, the blue feline got up from her chair with hands freed from her back. Both Blake and Jaune realized that she was pretending to be bound, which was strange because prisoners are usually restrained especially when there were no guards inside the place.

What's even more bizarre was how Aqua used one hand to grip Jaune by his shoulder. With a grin, she said, "And you're coming with me. Let's go."

Before Blake could ram into the rogue Faunus and Lou yell out a helpful advice, Jaune saw his sight become filled with droplets of water. Unsure of what was happening, all he could do was stay still as he felt his entire body change into a state that made him lose his entire sight.

Unknown to the boy, Aqua used her Semblance to have their bodies turn into mists of water. This made them disappear into thin air, leaving Blake as the sole person left in the room that was became void of its original captive.

* * *

A/N: Again, you'll have to trust me with this OC. Although spoiler: she's not going to stay in this story for long. That's all I could really say at this point.

And after not doing this for a long time, here's a shout-out to these good reviewers:

vstealthyx

TheFirstFoxx

Toaneo07 Ver2.0

Random dude


	15. Unfortunate Times

Chapter 15: Unfortunate Times

Right as Jaune felt feeling return to his body, he immediately jumped back with his dukes up. He made sure that he had his eyes aim at Aqua, the Faunus who casually smoothed out her clothes' wrinkles.

" **You're back. Alright, teach this bitch a lesson!"**

"O-okay, I'm not sure what you did, but this is taking it too far." Regaining his bearings, Jaune looked around to find that he and the escaped Faunus were near one of Beacon's gardens. This tranquil place had many plants and trees that showed off their array of bright colors. This view and scented aroma were almost enough to make Jaune forget that he was kidnapped.

"Relax, I'm not going to hurt you. We're just here because I wanted to see this place for one last time." Aqua bent down near a pink flower and used one hand to gently raise the plant's flowery head. "I'm not really thrilled about hurting people in the first place, but there isn't a choice in the matter."

Hearing this statement had Jaune lower his hands enough to where his guard was still intact. "Really? Not even Humans?"

"No, I have nothing against them. I was trying to put up an act back there because your friend was asking the kind of questions I didn't want to answer." As Aqua confessed, she stood back up while her cat ears slightly wiggled, trying to detect suspicious noises. "If I wasn't so riled up, I could have lasted until that interrogation team arrived to take me away. I shouldn't have used up those fake cuffs like that."

" **Huh, so she doesn't mind banging Humans either? She is kind of cute; willing to see if she'll be a good pair with Blake? Never bad to have a lady in each of your arms, much less two pussycats."**

Ignoring Lou, Jaune waited as he saw Aqua take out a small cigarette from the pocket of her jacket. He didn't interrupt the Faunus after she took out a lighter with the other hand so she could heat up the end of her smoking stick.

When the cat took in and breathed out the nicotine smog, Jaune finally asked, "So why set all of this up? What are you trying to do?"

"Eeh, wrong question," Aqua said as she imitated the noise of the 'wrong' blare. Aiming her cigarette at Jaune, she said, "Go ahead and ask me another question. Or don't, your choice since we can't stay here for long."

Jaune realized that the Faunus was giving him time to interrogate her as he tried to do with Blake back in the detention room. Ignoring the strange reason of why she's doing this now, he asked, "Then how did we get out here? Did you use your Semblance to make this happen?"

"Yep, it involves turning me and the things I touch into any kind of liquid. Pretty cool, huh? I could also pass through walls, making physical attacks kind of useless against me." Aqua's smirk showed that she enjoyed bragging about her special skill. "The WF could have made me like a spy or assassin, but I didn't really like that idea."

Jaune nodded, taking note that WF was for 'White Fang' and the aqua cat sounded legitimate concerning her honest tone. "Then who helped you get out of those Null Stone cuffs?" he asked as he knew real cuffs sealed Aqua's Aura, thus her Semblance. She had to get help, especially when she had on a fake version of the restraints that were delivered to her by unrevealed contacts.

Unfortunately, the Faunus's face scrunched from disapproval. "Another question I can't answer. Seriously, you should know what to ask by now, so hurry up and ask it."

Jaune knew what Aqua was asking for, but avoided the question since the first two held more precedence. Finding no choice as he was out of ideas, he finally said, "Alright, fine. Why did you take me with you during your escape?"

"Bingo, finally said it." With a smile, Aqua took a long drag from her smoking stick. Blowing out white smog, she continued, "Since Blake wasn't so nice back there, I wanted to talk to you alone about some things on my mind. And since I let you ask all of these questions, you should have the courtesy to hear me out, Jaune."

The blonde felt sour that Aqua used his questions as an exchange for letting her take control of the situation. Also realizing that she knew his and Blake's name the entire time, he asked, "Then what do you want to talk about? I'm not sure if there's anything really important for me to give you since we never saw each other."

"Not entirely true. You always had my attention." Aqua 's eyes fluttered in a manner that even Jaune realized was considered a language used by girls. Sadly, the boy didn't have a clue due to both his inexperience and naivety. "And to see your kind of tolerance has me think you'll believe this next part. The White Fang has my little brother captive."

Jaune's eyes widened at the sudden news that gave him a new perspective of the blue-haired cat. "Your brother is a hostage?! Is that the reason why you've been doing all of this?!"

"Yeah, you can say that. Before all of this, I was just a simple student trying to make ends meet in the school and city. Not a lot of people would take care of the Faunus folk, so I had to make sure my brother and I made it till after graduation." Aqua shrugged her shoulders with her hands up to show her aloof manner. "But that changed after the White Fang came. The day before, they whisked my last family member away and blackmailed me to drive that death machine into campus. They probably did it to make the others scared out of their training bras and shorts."

Jaune nodded as he realized that the blue feline wasn't a bad person at all. She was forced into making these difficult circumstances that may bring terrible consequences in the future, all which would only benefit the captors of her beloved family member.

Somehow, this made the boy relieved as he found that there may be a way to help Aqua, a fellow classmate and victim, and resolve the rising tension that would come later. "If that's the case, then go tell the headmaster. Tell him where the bad guys are so someone can take care of them and rescue your brother at the same time. My team and the others are working with him, so you could at least trust that I'll be with them along the way."

"You think I didn't consider those options?" Aqua bit onto the end of her cigarette so she could frown without dropping the stick. "That's not going to work. Taking this to the headmaster is just a waste of time because of the council and Atlas. You should know that by now."

Jaune almost face-palmed as he knew the girl was right. Even if Ozpin was willing to help, his jurisdiction would have been overruled by those above him. Anyone else helping a fugitive within the vicinity of this Kingdom would most likely get into trouble if the right methods of evasion weren't used. The boy berated himself even more that Ozpin noted this during their earlier meeting with the other leaders.

"And that's another thing I'm wondering about. Is your group really good enough to take care of the White Fang? If you go up against them at their worst, there's a high chance that none of you can make it out alive."

Aqua's statement had the mind of Juniper's leader rapidly play out many scenarios. He was shocked to not have ever considered the consequences of such actions that would have placed him and his team in danger.

" **Not really your fault, kid. Even if Team Ruby dove into the worst of it, the risks weren't always that high. All they did was run away from an entire group of those thugs and fought against one of those suits piloted by a third-rate criminal. Seriously, any competent team could have done that."**

Jaune knew Lou was talking about the details of the time Ruby and her team went out with Neptune and Sun. That and their inability to stop a runaway train also spoke of the inexperience that everyone still had in handling matters.

"You guys don't even have support from an adult Hunter, do you?" Aqua scoffed. Sounding disappointed, she looked up at the sky above. "I heard about the train and city situation from several of the White Fang guys. Those girls who took on that train; your and the other teams working together to stop the Grimm. All of those times involved adults, even that Atlas army. They can't always be there to help all of you, so I need to know. Are any of you ready to take on this challenge?"

"I am." Despite his new insecurities, Jaune spoke without hesitation. "You're right, I didn't consider the worst cases possible because everything was always working out for us. But that doesn't mean we're going to back down from the responsibility we've accepted. If we don't do this…well, what's the point of becoming Hunters if we're too afraid to take on these risks?"

"Don't forget that nobody else is trying to do this." Aqua's frown was replaced by a sad smile as she followed up the boy's statement with her own words. "Yeah, sorry for being the devil's advocate. I wanted to see your resolve. Nowadays, we can't rely on adults anymore. That leaves only the people willing to help like you and your friends."

Blowing one more cloud from her mouth, Aqua crushed the cigarette in her hand. Walking forward, she stood in front of the boy, standing a head taller than her younger student. "Please, save my brother, Caelum. He's at Port Twenty of the docks and onboard the S.S. Wild. You should also find some things there that could help you stop whatever the bad guys are planning to do."

While this reveal would have called for a moment of joy mentally expressed by Lou, Jaune didn't feel any better as he already noticed something wrong. "And you won't join us? Or are you saying…you can't?"

"No, because there's one more thing I need to do. It might even give all of you some time to get things ready. There's also the issue where we're out of time."

"Out of time?" Jaune asked. "What do you mean? You're not planning on doing something else for that group, are you?"

"That's…that's another question I can't explain." Aqua's answer held a tint of fear and sadness that made emotional cracks in the Human's heart. "I have to do this last thing that I kind of screwed up the preparations for in the first place."

Aqua's spoke her last sentence just as alarms shrilled in the air. A moment later, a male voice announced, "All students, return to your rooms. The school is now under lockdown; soldiers have been dispatched to look for Aqua Rudis. All search parties, be advised that lethal force is prohibited."

Jaune would have panicked as the innocent Faunus has just become the school's number one target. However, in the middle of the announcement, the blue feline bent her head down and pecked him on his cheek. Since then, he couldn't really form much of a thought as Aqua took several steps backwards with both hands held behind her back.

"That's my payment to you. If I somehow make it and you can rescue him, then I'll consider giving you something better." As a blue film of energy covered her body, Aqua gave a toothy smile to the blonde teenager. "If only we stayed together after Heaven's Palace, maybe I wouldn't have stopped believing in happy endings for everyone. Make sure it at least happens for my brother, okay?"

Confused, Jaune only watched as the older Faunus became a blue mist. When the sheet of droplets disappeared, he suddenly wondered if it was the right thing to let her go.

" **Jaune, I did a quick bypass of your memories. I'll let you see it and decide if she's worth chasing after."**

Several images went through the boy's mind, ones directed by Lou's will. Jaune was breathless as he never even knew he had such memories in the first place. After the last one went through his mind, the boy began to run at full speed down the garden's path that led back to the buildings.

" **Yeesh, sucks how a long-lost friend just tells you who she is at the last moment, huh?!"**

Jaune couldn't reply as he was too busy running. His emotions, however, couldn't disagree with the jewel. He wondered why Aqua has never approached him at all if she knew of their past relationship.

" **I hear you, kid. Who knew that Heaven's Palace was the name of the playground you two played together in with the other kids. I didn't even know that's when you made your first Faunus friends."**

Feeling all the more guilty for not discovering the connection sooner, Jaune ran with all his might and kept an ear out for any news. Soon, he was back inside and running through the school hallways. Along the way, he picked up his Scroll after it rang. Putting the device next to his ear, the worried boy asked, "Hello? Who's this?"

"It's Pyrrha. Blake told all of us what happened. Is everything okay?"

Jaune felt relieved he was hearing from his partner, although one part of him felt disappointed that the Faunus didn't call him herself. Getting out of his selfish mood, he replied, "Yeah, I'm fine. Do you happen to know where Aqua is by any chance?"

"Why would you ask that? Didn't you hear the announcement?" Pyrrha's words were laced with worry, possibly a sign that she believed her leader to be asinine. "Did…Aqua do something that made you want to see her again?"

"Yeah, it's really urgent. It's even more important that we find and stop her." the blonde said as he noticed the small hint of anger embedded in his partner's words. "She's innocent in all of this. She's forced to follow orders from the White Fang. We have to stop her so she could have a chance to explain herself!"

A crash came from the far side of Beacon. Jaune remembered that area was where the dorms were at. Running to that direction, he panted, "Got to go. Tell everyone who could help to get over to that explosion. We don't have much time!"

Turning off his Scroll, Jaune corrected his form so his legs and arms could make the proper motions. By the time he was at the end of one hallway, he saw the pathway to his right had scratches and blown sections going everywhere. There were also three figures down the hallway, doing battle in a ferocious manner. Using both hands to take out his sword and shield, Jaune cautiously approached the conflict.

Once close, Jaune saw that one person was Aqua holding onto a lance of blue crystals that had a teal spearhead shaped like the head of a beast. The baffling part of this sight was that he didn't recognize the other two figures.

One was a tall boy with gray hair. Throwing swift kicks at the Faunus with his armored feet, he grunted, "You're making way too much noise around here."

When Aqua jumped back to avoid the kicker, she did a windmill swing with her weapon to block bullets coming from the dual pistols of the tanned girl with green hair. The shooter skillfully transformed her guns into scythes as she said, "And Atlas is bound to come this way, so why do you have to bring them here?"

Stopping in his tracks, Jaune looked on as he still didn't realize that he was watching Aqua battle the mischievous duo, Mercury and Emerald.

" **Jaune, it looks like you might need to work with them if you're going to stop Aqua. Get ready."**

The young Arc was skeptical as he didn't like the idea of working with complete strangers. Yet, remembering his short time had the boy decide to take the chance and raise his weapons so he could start the process of stopping Aqua, his friend of his long-forgotten childhood.

* * *

A/N: Quite the twist, huh? I noticed there wasn't a lot of action before. I'll make sure the next chapter makes up for a lot of that.

And here's a nice question. If Emerald and Mercury's group are working with the WF, then why would they be attacking Aqua? Well, that answer will come next week. Till then, have a good one. Please follow and favorite if you haven't done so already.

And one more thing, don't forget to follow the Facebook group, RWBY United, as they are featuring my story.


	16. Shattered Innocence

Chapter 16: Shattered Innocence

After making the last-minute decision to put his weapons away, Jaune saw Aqua swing her long weapon in a wide arc. Mercury came in and caught the spearhead with his foot while Emerald used both of her sickles to grab the lance's shaft so she could yank it out of the owner's hands.

Hearing the Faunus curse allowed Jaune to see his chance. He ran as his transparent sword, **Arc Save** , appeared into both of his hands. He tried slashing it at Aqua, but missed as she was already in the air after turning into a mist of blue droplets.

"You got her?" Mercury asked.

"I see her," Emerald replied as she aimed a gun at the air and fired. Several bullets of fire Dust slammed into a sheet of water before exploding into tongues of blazing fire. A moment later, Aqua reappeared while parts of her uniform were covered in small flames.

Regaining her bearings, the Faunus picked up her spear and aimed it forward during her dash towards her enemies. She missed when the crime duo jumped away, forcing her to keep going so she could dodge the incoming bullets. When she turned, her eyes grew into horror after they focused onto the uninvited blonde.

"Jaune, what are you doing here?!"

The addressed one raised his **Arc Save** up. "Stopping you from making a mistake." Before Jaune could go on, he saw Mercury rush the blue feline with a flurry of kicks. Several side kicks sent out bullets from the gun boots that almost hit the Faunus as she swiftly dodged them.

Emerald tried to attack from the other side, but blocked a wide swing from Aqua's lance. With blades on the shaft, she tried to keep the lance still as her partner came from the air with a heel kick set to crush the feline's skull.

"Nice moves," Aqua said as her spear glowed in a blue light. With Dust activated, tendrils of water came out of the weapon to wrap around Emerald and the airborne kicker before throwing them to different parts of the hallway.

"You just missed some steps, so better luck on the next round," the Faunus taunted. She looked at Jaune right as several tendrils wrapped around the boy's entire body.

Arms stuck, Jaune couldn't focus to remake the lost **Arc Save**. He could only remain helpless as his binds brought him close to the cross Faunus. Lou didn't help when it yelled, **"Bite her! Spit at her! No, kiss her and use your boyish charms to stop her!"**

"What are you doing?" Aqua didn't look away as her water tentacles spurted out to attack the recovering fighters. "You shouldn't have come after me."

"But I had to! I remember now, you and I were friends at that playground!" Jaune exclaimed as he tried to struggle out of his wet restraints. "Please stop and turn yourself in. If you do, nobody could do anything to you once you're not a threat."

Aqua sadly shook her head. "It's not that simple and you shouldn't have come after me. You'll only end up hurting yourself."

Sparks flew through the watery restraints to shock both Aqua and the unfortunate Jaune. The water tentacles disappeared as the user lost control of her powers. However, this didn't stop the blue cat from jumping away. Her Dust spear disappeared into a mist of water before it materialized back into her hand.

"Think that's good enough?" As her turn to taunt, a nearby Emerald sneered while her hands held her sickle weapons sparking in electricity from Dust usage. Mercury walked up while his feet became covered in the fire made by the Dust in his boots. The young criminals were prepared to take the current battle to the next level.

In response, Aqua kicked Jaune hard to send him flying. Quickly, she grabbed her crystal spear with both hands and horizontally held it in front of her. As the weapon disintegrated, large blobs of water hovered near her and turned into icy heads of ferocious beasts.

"Not sure, let's find out in this round." Swinging her arms forward, Aqua had her monstrous, ice sculptures fly out. Set to ram into their targets, none made it very far as Mercury managed to meet the ones close to him with powerful kicks from his feet of inferno. Throwing round and front kicks, the skillful kicker maintained his smile as his body spun so his legs could smash the other ice heads from impossible angles.

Emerald provided support by shooting down the heads that tried to arc throughout the air by Aqua's command. She made sure none would outflank her partner, thus turning this exchange into a heated stalemate.

From his viewpont, Jaune didn't know how to approach as he didn't want to ruin Emerald and Mercury's streak. He also didn't want to rush towards Aqua as she would only retaliate by sending one of her projectiles his way.

At one point, the blonde noticed Mercury's grimace as he did a split kick to break two more ice heads. The kicker was reaching his limits and Emerald was losing the needed ammo and energy to maintain her barrage.

Aqua seemed to notice this as she had the water blobs near her head turn into spikes made of ice. "Would have been fun to see who the winner is, but we need to wrap things up." As she finished, her hands threw forward to make her Dust weapons fly and break into cold shrapnel that rained down like a squall.

Mercury quickly ran backwards to dodge several before he resorted to backflips so he could get away from the storm. As he passed his partner, Emerald held her sickles that had small gusts of winds coming out of their blades. When she swung them, her weapons unleashed small tornadoes that met the rain of small ice.

" **Hey, hey! She's getting away!"**

Jaune realized this attack was a distraction as Aqua started turning into a mist of water. He quickly moved towards her so he could ram into her just as he felt his form feel intangible again.

By the time he felt his awareness return, Jaune had one hand push the Faunus down while his other quickly stabbed down **Arc Save** into his target's stomach. Although the young Arc didn't enjoy hearing Aqua's gasp of pain, he made sure he had a firm grip on his blade. His attack wasn't in its physical form, so all it did was drain energy without hurting its victim.

"Did you chase after me because you were after that reward before leaving?"

Aqua's amused voice had Jaune look up to see that his hand was gripping the girl's breast. Feeling its firm and soft form, he felt a rush of lust make his mind consider dangerous actions. He quickly let go and got up so he could keep a good distance away from the Faunus.

"That wasn't meant to happen. I am so sorry." Jaune saw his apology made Aqua giggle out of good nature.

"You have more than that to apologize for, but I can't be mad at you when you still have that goofy nature from when we were kids." The Faunus stood up only to bend over with a hand holding onto her side. "It feels like you took something went missing from inside me. Did that sword take some part of my purity too?"

Lou's perverted laughter didn't help Jaune in his dizziness. He had enough from his family's heirloom, so Aqua's sudden tease in this tense situation caught him off guard.

"So can you get out of my way, Jaune? I have an appointment to keep." Back to normal, Aqua looked down when her hands didn't grip anything after flexing. When her head came back up, her eyes leered at the boy holding her lance behind his back.

Keeping calm, Jaune stepped back forward and scanned the room to see they were inside an enclosed area that was bright from the ceiling lights. With the surrounding shelves holding cleaning supplies, he figured they were inside a closet located at an unknown part of the school.

"Jaune, give back my Water Lynx. It's the whole reason why I came back to my dorm. Without it, I can't finish my mission."

"No, you can't have it. If you really need it, you're going to have to take it by force. I don't even know why you're going this far to listen to the White Fang. What is your mission anyways?"

Jaune realized he snapped at Aqua after he saw her look shocked from the tone of his voice. Despite his regret, he held in his apology because the girl had to explain herself first.

"I can't tell you. If I do, it'll make doing this a lot harder for me. It's already hard when you came after me and said it was for my sake." Sounding sad, the blue-haired Faunus stepped back as a hand gripped the part of her chest where her heart should be at. "It feels like you're trying to carry out our promise, but that's impossible because I bet you don't even remember it!"

" **But that's where I come in. Hang on a sec, there's something like that in your memories somewhere."**

To Jaune's fortune, Lou brought up a memory that involved him looking at a younger version of Aqua. This period involved him making a pinky-swear with the girl who smiled as she exchanged their promise with each other.

" _So you'll make sure nobody will ever hurt us, even me?"_

Jaune felt sick as he heard himself answer to a promise he never bothered remembering.

" _Then if you become a Hunter, I'll be become a Huntress with you. After that…we can protect and show both Humans and Faunus that we don't need to hate each other."_

After the memory ended, Jaune felt his grip on Aqua's lance weaken. "I guess…you're mad that I wasn't there to help you…after things between Humans and Faunus got bad."

"I'm not angry, just hurt that you couldn't be there to make us happy when we were miserable." Aqua sniffed as she was apparently reliving bad times that played inside her mind. "I know you're not to blame, but so many people hurt us. Humans were the reason why most of my family is gone. Even my own people ignored us because they thought we were wrong for hanging out with Humans. Nobody, not even Hunters, really did a damn thing for any of us!"

Jaune saw that Aqua was doing her best to hold in tears. He felt responsible since it was clear that she didn't want to feel this way when she was carrying out her mission. Confused and frustrated, he asked, "But I don't get it, why didn't you come to me earlier if you knew who I was?!"

"Because when you were getting picked on by that bully and hardly keeping up with the others, I didn't see you as the same confident friend from our childhood. But just when you were getting better, when I tried to find the courage to see you, all of this shit came down on me." As Aqua's voice became shakier, tears started coming out of her eyes, signs that she was dealing with all kinds of negative emotions.

The young Arc couldn't answer as he didn't know what to exactly say, especially when the girl appeared ready to break down. When he took into account their earlier conversation, the boy slowly came up to the Faunus. "Even if you don't blame me, I'm sorry for what happened to you and the others. What matters now is that we're together again. If you need my help this time, you'll get it."

After taking one more step, Jaune heard Lou say, **"Kid, remember her Dust weapon. Also know I was nice enough to put a veil of Aura around your body to counter her Semblance, so have at it."**

Jaune lowered the spear in his hand so it could lean against a wall. After that, he encircled his arms around the Faunus so he could give her a comforting hug. "If you hurry and escape to the city, we can meet up and rescue your brother together. It's not too late to carry out that promise together."

Two hands grabbed the boy by his shoulders and pulled him back. He looked up to see the Faunus was shaking her head with a mixture of disbelief.

"I already told you, I don't believe in things like that anymore. After losing so much, there's no way that everything is going to turn out alright," Aqua said as she stepped back. Before Jaune could approach her again, he noticed water began to wrap around his body out of nowhere.

"H-hey!" the blonde exclaimed as he felt himself get lifted into the air. He looked down to see that he was in a sphere of water that acted as his prison. Only his head was poking out from the lower part so he could still breathe.

" **Okay, I didn't know she lied to us. And holy Dust, is that a tail?!"**

Jaune looked at Aqua to find that the Faunus indeed had a tail of water sprouting from her skirt. He was so surprised that his jaw dropped, a reaction that made the girl giggle as she had her spear in hand.

"I did tell you the truth about my Semblance when it was in its normal form. Right now, I'm able to freely create and control any kind of liquid for a limited amount of time." The blue feline placed her hand onto her hip. "You don't learn ithis name till later, but it's called Perfection, the form that comes after Semblance. It represents a more complete version of your abilities."

While Jaune struggled to get out, he inwardly groaned once Lou exclaimed, **"Oh, Perfection. That's right. Wait, why does she know it? And why the hell did those teachers not teach you how to prepare for that kind of training?! Those lazy fakers need to get replaced by real educators!"**

The blonde didn't let Lou's complaint distract him from making eye contact with his childhood friend. Desperate as he knew what she was going to do, he exclaimed, "Aqua, you don't have to do this. Just run or something, but don't do what's going to kill you!"

The blue Faunus had both of her hands grab Jaune's cheeks. Out of nowhere, she had her head close in so she could kiss the boy fully on his lips. Mind blank, he didn't put up any resistance as a tongue went inside his mouth and interlaced with his own to make a slimy embrace. Unfamiliar pleasure made his heart beat fast and throat vibrate from his deep moans.

" **Yowza, did not expect that! And hey, don't you dare pull back! Keep your head there and take it like a man!"**

After several seconds, Aqua pulled back as her mouth trailed a thin, wet line. Using a hand to wipe her mouth, she giggled, "That felt so good. There's no way this could have been your first kiss, right?"

Jaune's blush made the older girl briefly laugh out loud. As she finished, she remarked, "Then I guess that's the best thing you gave me as I did for you. Shit, I already said goodbye to you. Why did you come after me?"

Aqua's form started turning into mist, leaving the other boy horrified of what's happening. As he struggled, he fell into deep sadness when he heard, "Please, don't chase after me anymore or you'll end up in more pain than me. Let this be the last time we see each other."

" **Oh no, those are dying words! Jaune, get out of there and use Arc Save!"**

Jaune just finished powering up **Lumen Burst** that blew apart his spherical prison with an explosion of light. Landing on the ground with his clothes wet, he looked up to see the last droplets of Aqua's form disappear. Unrelenting, the boy rammed through the door so his body could enter the large space of a hallway.

"Jaune? What were you doing in there?"

The boy looked up to see Pyrrha standing with Ruby and Sun. "I was talking to Aqua, but she ran off to do something. We need to find her right now!"

"Whoa, don't panic. Our pals are looking while taking the 'long way' back to their rooms." Sun's smile showed that he was the mastermind for the juvenile action. "I'm sure they'll find some sign of her if she goes there. We were actually going to check out one place where she might be going if she is part of the White Fang."

"Really? Where would that be?" Jaune asked as he walked with the trio to their destination.

Ruby cocked Crescent Rose in its gun form. "She might be heading to the amphitheater. That's where General Ironwood is scheduled to show the city's representatives how the security is in the school."

" **So her mission is to assassinate the heads of our society,"** sighed Lou from the inside. **Yeah, you should probably go before things are handed to hell in a handbasket."**

"Are you students here?!" A new voice had Jaune and his friends turn to see two Atlas soldiers approach them. "Did you not hear the announcement? This school is on lockdown. You shouldn't be in this area; it's not safe."

"We know. We were, uh, just about to head back to our rooms, right guys?" Sun's question came with nodding heads from the others. One of the soldiers scratched his helmet before placing his hand on his headgear's side.

"Command, this is Red Nine. I have several students here who are approaching their rooms. Please send escorts to my coordinates while we continue our patrol en route."

After static gurgled from the helmet, the soldier glanced at the kids and said, "Stay put, we don't want anything happening to the four of you while we're on duty."

"Hey, why do you get to call Command?" The second soldier's whine was followed by his hand pushing on his ally's shoulder. "You know my evaluation is shit because of dozing off. That call would have fixed that if I was the one who made it."

"Sorry, it was the spur of the moment." The first soldier shook his head. "Look, if you don't doze off by the next evaluation, I'm sure your position won't get replaced by one of those stupid robots."

Sun round-kicked one of the soldier's head while Ruby slammed a drop-kick into the other's body. As bodies fell, the monkey looked down and remarked, "Damn it, kind of feel bad that he'll lose his job now. We better go before he wakes up mad."

While squeamish of the result, Jaune nodded as he and the others ran to the amphitheater. A few steps later, he heard footsteps before a woman shouted, "Hey, stop right there! I said stop!"

Now on the run from Atlas soldiers, the blonde Arc sprinted at full speed with the others. After turning one corner, he saw there were several soldiers down the hallway running towards them.

"I see them!" one soldier yelled before he and his comrades took out stun batons. As they raised their weapons, Sun ran ahead and had two astral clones appear beside him. All three monkeys struck at their respective targets to knock them out.

Still going at full speed, Sun took out his gunchucks and spun them to send several gunshots down the hallway. Probably thanks to his super hearing, his shots hit f more soldiers running into the line of his bullets.

"Go, I got these guys!" the Faunus yelled before he rounded the corner to his right. Running straight on, Jaune veered his head to see that Sun and his clones were keeping more of the Atlas soldiers busy in the other hallway.

As the trio reached the stairs, Jaune looked down to see white androids, AK-200s, walking up the steps. With assault guns aimed forward, one announced, "Desist. Any attempts of retaliation will be met with equal force."

"Ruby, get ready to grab Jaune and run." Pyrrha raised her hands that glowed in a black color. "I'll hold them off." She held her position as the robots fired. Thanks to her Semblance, she managed to stop the flying bullets until an entire wall was floating in front of her and the others.

As the young Rose gripped his arm, the blonde glanced at his partner and said, "Thanks. Sorry for making all of you do this."

"We trust you to do the right thing. There's no need for thanks." Despite her reply, Pyrrha smiled as she seemed to appreciate what her leader said. "On my mark-."

"Dust rounds set and aim." All androids said these words in a chorus as their guns made metallic clicks. "Main weapons ready, engaging targets."

"-now!" Pyrrha yelled as she pulled back and thrust out her arm. This made the wall of bullets fly forward to meet the androids' colorful rain of death. Upon collision, explosions went off in bright assortments that created rainbow of clouds in the air all around.

"Ooh, now that's pretty," Ruby said before she became a blur along with her package. An instant after, both her and Jaune's body appeared at the stair's bottom end. As she took out Crescent Rose in its scythe form, she began her dash with Jaune once again.

During their run, Ruby exclaimed, "So why are you after this girl? It can't just be for the info she has!"

"She's an old friend who I left behind a long time ago! I'm not going to do it a second time when we still have a promise to keep, not when we managed to get together again!"

"Ooh, that sounds so cool and romantic!" Ruby smiled wide, apparently impressed by the boy's determination. "Well, we're almost there. The amphitheater should come up through that-."

A sudden earthquake had both teenagers stumble on their feet. When Jaune regained his balance, he feared for the worst as the sound of rushing water came from the distance. Hurrying on with Ruby, he eventually made it through the entrance to see that the battlefield was occupied by elements of great forces.

On one side, a muscular figure stood with metal surrounding its entire body. It had arms out to struggle against the waves of water flowing from the other side. The source of this river was coming from the giant head of a beast that's made of the same, blue element. Both monster and iron man were on the ruined field of the amphitheater's former arena.

Unsure of how to approach this, Jaune looked around and saw the General stand behind the group of his Human soldiers. Near him were people in formal clothes, most likely the representatives from the city. While glad they were safe, the blonde teenager didn't enjoy how the iron figure was about to be skewered by the aqua monster's fangs that were made of ice.

Suddenly, a discharge of intense electricity went off from the figure, lightning ripping through the water beast and stabbing into the ground and walls. As soon as it appeared, it stopped. By then, the monster of water evaporated into steam thanks to the heat from the intense electricity. At its former spot was Aqua, who coughed in pain while her body smoked and her aquatic tail slowly disappeared.

Appalled by this sight, Jaune noticed that the victor of this battle was Steele whose skin turned from iron back to its light color. His hair still black, the captain took several steps away from the Faunus. While cautious, he showed no signs of killing a girl whose Dust weapon was on the floor and in pieces.

"Surrender, you've lost this battle." Ironwood's announcement summoned more robotic and Human soldiers from other entrances. As their guns came up with clicks and clanks, their formation didn't leave Aqua with much chances of escape.

"I guess I did. It's my loss." Aqua let out a small laugh that created the confusion in the bystanders' faces. To Jaune, he thought he heard an intense amount of sadness in her voice.

"But the war isn't over." No longer laughing, the blue feline glared at the leader of the Atlas military. "If you plan on winning in this manner, you'll end up with more losses than gains, General."

" **No, no! She's got a gun! Stop her!"** Lou's warning had the boy see his childhood friend reach for the gun that was attached to her back. Before he could run, he felt something hard hit him from the back to make his body hit the floor.

" **Of all times, these Faunus fuckers attack you when you're distracted?!"**

As Jaune felt terrible from hearing Lou's curse word, he also felt restraints wrap around his wrists. He looked up to see that Ruby was also on the ground with Atlas soldiers tying her up with handcuffs. Feeling his Aura's weakening gave the notion that his body was under the influence of a Null Stone.

Feeling helpless, Jaune looked ahead to see a sight that made his insides twist and turn. His sudden ascension from the ground managed to surprise the soldiers enough for him to get away and run towards Aqua.

"Aqua? What are you doing?!" The blonde felt frantic as his long-lost friend had the barrel of the gun aimed at her head. Despite his best attempts to run and ignore others telling him to stop, his attention focused on Aqua, who turned and mouthed the words he regretfully managed to read as one sentence.

"The rest is up to you now."

Out came the blast of a loaded gun. Next came the sound of an empty bullet shell landing on the ground. After a body fell onto the floor, silence ensued throughout the vast space of the amphitheater.

While others were silent out of surprise, Jaune's came from utter shock and despair. He didn't understand why she did it. He didn't even know if there was a point to such an action.

All the boy knew was that his former friend was now a lifeless body on the cold stone of the ruined arena floor. The worst part was how she did it by choice, indicating that she had nothing else to look forward to despite their promise together.

Feeling he was to blame for letting this happen, Jaune could only let tears come out of his eyes as his knees met the solid ground. His mind shut down, canceling out the voices of Lou and the soldiers coming in to take him away.

* * *

A/N: Yeah, that happened. So many might hate me, but this is done to help give a little realistic side to this story.

Some things might not also make sense here, so I prepared one chapter that will come out sooner as a way to help bring clarity to these matters including why Aqua committed suicide.

So if you have any questions or need to say something, don't forget to leave a review.


	17. Ignited Embers

Chapter 16.5: Ignited Embers

A/N: Here's more of a chapter that's needed to clear some things up, so expect one more chapter to come out for the week.

Keep in mind that this is going by a limited perspective with the focus being on Cinder.

* * *

"Well, there it is. She got rid of herself without causing us too much trouble," Mercury said before he jumped onto his bed. "Helping her almost turned into a disaster. We didn't want the soldiers to come snooping around our room without a notice."

Emerald nodded as she turned off her Scroll that portrayed the events of the amphitheater through a camera. "I was worried about why you told us not to get involved with her anymore. Now it's clear; I'm sorry for doubting you Cinder."

"It's alright. Even I have to admit that our allies from the White Fang were hasty with their news and request regarding this Aqua." The raven-haired temptress of fire turned off her own Scroll before she got up from her bed. Walking with a suave saunter, Cinder stood at the center of the room so she could have the attention of her younger cohorts. "And we know 'that man' is making his own preparations, so he couldn't have been the one in charge of this uninvited move. In fact, I wasn't aware of anymore assets within our close vicinity."

While Cinder kept in mind 'that man' was Adam, Mercury yawned with a lazy hand near his mouth. "Well, it sounds like we have several of our 'friends' going wild. They're pretty crazy to think having a Faunus going suicide is a good idea."

"Or is it? After all, her cherished relative was one of the many within the captivity of our radical comrades."

Cinder's announcement created reactions of surprise from the teenagers. Emerald was the first to say, "So she didn't commit suicide just to avoid capture. She did it to let whoever was watching her know she did her job and avoid a real interrogation."

"So we have other White Fang folks in this building? Then why the hell did we have to sneak into that room when those other guys could have done it?!" Despite being annoyed, Mercury donned a frown that signaled his descent into a more solemn mood. "So you think the people controlling Aqua were the same idiots who listened to our prison buddy? There's no way Torchdick could have convinced that many members to do the train plan so early."

"Perhaps, which means there's a motive as to why these instigators would dare take actions that may jeopardize our preparations." Cinder's voice didn't lose its calm demeanor as she finished, "And yet, we have no reason to take the immediate action of teaching these deviants a much needed lesson."

"Bunch of morons if you ask me," Emerald added as she continued sitting on the floor while using a napkin in one hand to clean the barrel of her gun. "They're doing this while Atlas is coming in with guns hot and soldiers trigger-happy? That means most of the city is going to be occupied by them, which we took into account way before it happened."

Mercury rolled off of his bed, landed on the floor, then got up with arms out in the manner of an accomplished athlete. "So those troublemakers are in a tight spot. That leaves them with the choice of coming back and hoping we won't get rid of them for being losers. The other is where if they do make us worry, we'll just mosey over and do a little pest extermination."

Cinder nodded as she was somewhat proud that her juniors were able to comprehend the situation despite missing several points. However, the duo was able to get the general idea, leaving the fire conjurer to save her corrections for another time.

"With that settled, we do have several errands to take care of outside the school." Cinder reactivated her Scroll, preparing to bring up her digital schedule. "The weekend starts tomorrow. The two of you will attend to your posts while I make my visit…elsewhere."

The villainess felt her chest feel warm as her eyes made contact with the screen's images. By accident, she forgot to turn off the cameras that were still watching the scene in the amphitheater. The ones that captured her interest involved a teary-eyed Jaune getting taken away by several soldiers of Atlas. The boy's arms were still cuffed in Null Stone along with other children of his age.

"Cinder, is something wrong?"

The woman looked up to see the teenagers give her gazes mixed with curiosity and concern. Silently cursing herself for the immature pause, Cinder cleared her throat as she put away her Scroll. "Emerald, are you asking because I stopped explaining what my own objectives are? I don't recall having any desire to share such details."

The sharp tone seemed to work as Emerald's eyes slightly widened with fear. "N-no ma'am, just curious. We'll make sure to do our part when the time comes."

"Right after a good night's sleep. All this racket going on didn't help me get much shut-eye." With this, Mercury yawned as his back made contact with the unoccupied bed. His groan immediately turned into soft snores.

"Very well, but we'll need to go through our plans one more time before our departure. Perhaps some changes may be in if there has been any changes involved with today." Finished with her orders, Cinder made her exit out of the door's dorm alone. She quickly made her way down the hall and through the ladies room.

Once she was sure the perimeter was clear, Cinder walked into a stall, sat down on the toilet's lid, and reopened her Scroll. Her chest became regained its warmth as her hand gently caressed the frozen image of Jaune.

"It seems we're destined to see each other again, but will it be as a friend or foe?" With a wicked titter, the mistress of darkness felt her eyes glow with Aura as embers rose from the depths of her heart. "I'm sure we will find out soon enough. By then, I hope you haven't lost your ability to excite me, oh giver of light."

* * *

A/N: Look at that, Cinder seems to have an interest in something. Exactly on what or why, it'll all be determined in time. We need to first go back to those mourning and Pyrrha, one character who's made some development regarding an unseen event.


	18. Bearable Reality

Chapter 17: Bearable Reality

A/N: Breaking news, this story is now taking place on my co-writer's account on a different website. IF you see it there, I hope all of you can help make the story known there. In fact, anywhere because it's always nice to have more readers come by, maybe share any thoughts and interest on the story.

So now we go into something different. So far, we've done a limited third-person view based on Jaune's path. For the current and several future chapters, we'll focus on other viewpoints for the sake of giving diversity.

With that said, here's Pyrrha who is about to give a surprising conversation.

* * *

"That's what happened? I can't believe this, how could you let this happen to him?!" exclaimed the fuming Pyrrha. Sitting on her bed, she was currently the lone person in her team's dorm. Her words were more for a non-organic, intelligent being.

"Lady, I'll say it again. I'm not a crystal ball that could tell the future!" Floating in mid-air, Lou had its shiny front aim at Pyrrha to show it was talking to her face-to-face. "I did not expect Aqua to be a long-lost friend. I did not expect her to shoot herself when she had a thing for Jaune. Even I thought she was going to live and help us out with our stupid situation!"

Pyrrha crossed her arm across her chest covered with her chestplate. "This is coming from the one who bragged about being the ultimate guardian for him? And your reasoning for not consoling him now is the part that is making me feel odd about this."

"What's wrong with giving a mourning man his space?! He definitely doesn't like my jokes that should be the only thing he should come to me for!" Lou shook its body like a person would do with their head when annoyed. "Besides, why the hell aren't you with him? You're better off taking advantage of him now than later when his self-esteem goes back up."

"That's not right. It's not…I told you not to make suggestions like that." Her anger gone, Pyrrha glanced down at her legs in disappointment. "And you said they both kissed before her death. Doing something similar would either make him mad or sad if he's reminded of her again."

"So you're both considerate and jealous. Okay, you should have said it that way instead of making yourself sound like a perfect human being."

Pyrrha glared at the Arc family's heirloom, her green eyes boring holes into the necklace for making a remark related to her old resentment. "I never said anything like that. And jealous? Why would I be jealous?"

"Cause you probably thought my current master would mistake you for our dearly departed Aqua if you ever tried to be amorous with him. Don't forget, I could read your thoughts now that we're connected." Lou came closer to Pyrrha as its voice turned into a whisper. "I thought we agreed having this arrangement would work best for the two of us."

"And I'm finding more reasons to regret it," the girl replied as she used one hand to gently push the necklace away. "I still find it hard to believe something like you can exist even with our long conversation two nights ago."

Lou chuckled as it slowly flew around parts of the room, probably reminded of how it spontaneously introduced itself to Pyrrha after being left behind by Jaune. "Believe it, Miss Perfect. And to make this clear, Aqua would have still needed time to create a bond that is as strong as the one you have with Jaune. Remember? While my existence is interlinked to my master's will, his connections with those around him allow me to interact with them in similar ways. So you're not getting the full package, but some benefits like telepathic communications and Aura sharing."

Pyrrha felt bashful from one thought that came with Lou's explanation. "So you were telling me the truth? I'm the only one who can do this with him so far?"

"You're not just one, Pyrrha. As of now, you're THE one who is so cherished by Jaune, our connection merely exists because of it." Lou lowered its form in the same manner of a body bowing in a respectful manner. "And I'll say it again, you have a lot of my thanks for taking care of the kid. He may have potential, but what could he have done if he hasn't met a beautiful, caring girl like you in the first place?"

The untouchable warrior felt her cheeks buzz from a tinge of embarrassment. "I don't think flattery is good for a time like this."

"So you prefer not having the chance to be Jaune's sweetie pie?" The family heirloom twisted and spun as it danced around the air. "Fine, then just stay there in the friend zone. There's more than one girl out there that I'm sure would be happy to fill in the same roles as you, if not more significant."

Pyrrha's heart skipped a beat when several candidates came into her mind. Forcing down her panic, she calmly said, "I never said there wasn't any interest. It's just that any kind of attempts would be unnecessary for the moment." The girl paused as she suddenly felt bad for her earlier actions. Acting on this emotion, she apologized, "And I'm sorry for taking my frustration out on you earlier."

"You and me both, Pyrrha. How can anyone like seeing our rising hero get down in the dumps after losing a long-lost friend like that?" Lou slowly placed its string over the girl's head before it placed itself near her cleavage. "And I know you're worried, but plenty of people went to go cheer him up since yesterday afternoon. They must have done a lousy job since he didn't come back last night. We're probably the last people who can bring him out from his bottomless pit of despair."

The redhead nodded during her rise and exit out of her team's dorm. As she walked down the hallway, she took out her Scroll and had it call Nora. When she heard the line pick up, she asked, "Nora, do you happen to know where Jaune is? I haven't seen him this morning."

"I think he's somewhere at the school's entrance." These words from the cheerful Juniper member came with a giggle that sounded out of place. "If he is, you might need to hurry if you want to see him before he gets a ride to the city."

Pyrrha remembered that today was the start of the weekend. She felt slightly concerned by this as it seemed like Jaune was carrying out the objective that was given to both him and his team. "Alright, thanks for letting me know. Where are you and Ren right now?"

"Somewhere, why? Do we need to get together?" Again, Nora giggled as some kind of wet noise occurred in the background. This made the redhead think she accidentally called during a busy time.

"I'm honestly not sure. I'll let you know after figuring things out."

"Okey dokey, just let us know and we'll be there." Right after this, the call ended. Pyrrha felt bad as she figured she made her call while Nora was preoccupied.

" **Sure, sure. We'll just say she's busy."** Lou's telepathic snicker didn't settle well within the warrior's mind. **"For the sake of progress, consider texting and calling someone else. No need to bother those two."**

Keeping that in mind, Pyrrha soon reached the school's large entrance. There, she was lucky enough to see Jaune wave at a departing Sun and Neptune. Happy to see her partner, the redhead walked up to the boy.

"Pyrrha, what are you doing here?!" Jaune's displeased face didn't make the seeker feel good about her result of finding him. Thanks to Lou's assuring comment, she continued smiling while making her stop near the leader.

"I was looking for you. You didn't come back last night, so you had me worried," the girl said with a genuine voice of concern.

Blanking out for a moment, Jaune's lips creased into a small grin. "Oh, sorry. Forgot to call since I was busy making plans with Ruby's team in their dorm."

"Plans? What plans?" Pyrrha asked in surprise. She also felt strange from hearing that her partner might have spent the night in a dorm full of girls.

"Just plans to hang out in the city. I'm going to help them out today." Jaune looked down at the girl's chest as if he was trying to get an indecent look at her. "Oh, you have my necklace. Can you give that back to me? I kind of need it for something later."

Pyrrha shook her head. "You won't need it if I come with you. If you're heading to the city, then let's hurry before the next Bullhead leaves."

For a moment, Jaune looked utterly terrified. The girl wasn't sure as she mistakenly blinked. When she could see again, the boy appeared as calm as ever.

"O-okay, sure. Let's go then." Jaune's phrase began a long, silent walk to the aircraft. Even with Lou's encouragement for her to talk, Pyrrha felt a strange pressure coming from her blonde partner. This heavy influence made her feel like any word she said would have made him react in an uncomfortable way.

Soon, both teenagers were onboard the Bullhead that lifted off from the school's landing pad. Feeling secure by the engine's soft humming, the girl relaxed into her seat. When ready to talk, she looked at Jaune, who was sitting right beside and looking at the vehicle's front.

"So how are you since yesterday Jaune?"

"Feeling better thanks to everyone." With a sigh, the boy continued, "I think Ruby told the others that Aqua was an old friend of mine. That and maybe some depression made the others try to cheer me up for the rest of yesterday."

Pyrrha felt bothered as she wasn't aware that their entire group of friends hung out with the boy outsider her awareness. "Really? Was it really okay for you to be like that with them?"

"Well, yeah! We did some fun things together." Jaune aimed his eyes up as he recounted his earlier experiences. "Yesterday after Professor Ozpin pardoned us from the thing with the soldiers, Sun took me to go hang out with his team. We would have invited you, but you were gone by the time we got out."

Pyrrha remembered this came from her and the others' time near the detention room. When she came out and Jaune gave her Lou upon passing, she went back to the dorm while thinking her partner was going to be back later. By the time Ren and Nora were in bed, she also slept as exhaustion overtook her from her long wait.

She focused again as Jaune said, " "After that, Ruby and her team caught up to us and asked about Aqua. That gave everyone the first hint that Aqua and I were…childhood friends."

The blonde's cracked voice didn't go unnoticed by the listeners. Pyrrha was especially worried as she feared the current Jaune was having trouble putting up a front.

"But after that, Ruby asked if she wanted me to go with the others to the city today. When I said yes, she also said we had to make plans in her room and the library." Back to smiling, the boy of hard knockings had the nerve to mention, "Blake seemed really considerate of me when she agreed with some of my suggestions. Well, it might be unfair to think she's mean when she and I hardly hang out with each other."

Pyrrha's anger flared to a dangerous temperature. Of all people she had to hear about, it had to be one of the few she knew had the unconscious attention of the adolescent boy. This train of thought also seemed to make Lou snicker inside her head for some reason.

Seething in silent frustration, the girl crossed her arms and looked away. "I see. You were having so much fun with the others that you forgot to involve your own team? We're supposed to be the first ones you come to for help in anything."

"I know. It's that why…I couldn't ask you guys to come to the city with me."

The depressed sigh made Pyrrha turn back around to see her partner's downcast face. She suddenly felt guilty as she believed her previous comment didn't come off with her intended, casual tone.

" **You also added sprinkles of anger and jealousy to that cranky voice of yours. Make up already or else it'll cause a lot of stupid drama later."**

"Jaune, I didn't mean to be so harsh. It's just that a notice from you would have been nice. Nowadays, you seem reckless after you first showed us your family heirloom." Pyrrha raised her hand only to stop from touching the sensitive boy.

"I know…I just didn't want you guys to see me like this." After a few deep breaths, Jaune placed his hands onto his forehead. "I was trying to distract myself by hanging out with the others. I'm trying not to think about what happened to Aqua and the problems that came after her."

Seeing Jaune in his state led to Pyrrha's banishment of all hesitation. Bearing in mind that she was here to help, she bravely asked, "What are you talking about? Did something else happen before you met the others?"

"Yeah. It kind of happened when I was there for the talk in the headmaster's office. " The cheerfulness in Jaune's voice was all gone by this point. "I just…I didn't know what to think when the city representatives said they didn't see the school as a safe place for students anymore. Since Aqua has been a student for only two years, they were wondering if the faculty was screening everyone with the correct procedures."

Pyrrha didn't like the sound of this news. "If that's the case, then how badly does it reflect on Beacon?"

"Not much because Professor Ozpin and Goodwitch were able to make some good points. The General also helped them out by giving his advice. Saying that the military was in the school probably helped convince them that there won't be any more cases like this in the future."

The red-headed girl didn't feel relieved as her partner showed no sign of recovery. "Shouldn't that be a good thing?"

"I didn't finish."

Pyrrha almost flinched as she didn't expect Jaune to snap at her. Recomposing herself, she heard, "There were cameras at the scene, both belonging to the school and some of the visitors because they thought they were going to see a clean view of the place. Aqua's attack was the last thing they expected, which is why they got the whole event right up to when she…when it was over."

The listener closed her eyes out of sadness as she understood what this meant for Beacon's reputation, especially when Aqua committed her actions as both a student and a member of the White Fang.

"The city representatives said they were going to think about Beacon's future after the festival. For now, they're trying to get rid of the evidence." Jaune stopped there as his breathing became hard enough to make it seem like he was having a panic attack.

Nervous, Pyrrha slowly placed an arm on Jaune's shoulder. Before she could ask what was wrong, the boy pushed away her comforting hand.

"Don't touch me. Just don't," the boy sniffed. With his head turned away, the leader of Juniper was making an obvious effort to not look at his partner.

At this point, Pyrrha was feeling mad from how her partner wasn't letting him help her. Also confused, she didn't know what to do until Lou said, **"I'm not saying to give him a break, but he's just a kid. There's also this one other issue that he's not telling you about. I'll say it because you have to know for his sake."**

Lou's explanation only made Pyrrha feel unsettled in a disturbed way.

" **Now hurry up and tell him before I do it. It's not the same emo drama you had at the dance; we're talking about someone having a bad psyche and staying in it if you can't pull him out in time."**

"Jaune, did they ever talk about what happened to Aqua's body?" Pyrrha didn't know what to feel when she saw her friend quickly look up at her. Still using an anonymous approach, she said, "I noticed they removed her from the battle grounds this morning. Now that I think about it, wouldn't it have been better if you paid your respects to her before joining the others in the city?"

"That's…that's the problem I was just thinking of…it's been bothering me almost this entire time." The young Arc placed his hands onto his face like a mask. "I don't where it is. They said they were going to get rid of the body and make it seem like she just dropped out of school. If nobody knew where she was, there was no way she was going to get a proper burial."

Sadness was replaced by immense repulsion for Pyrrha. She couldn't believe that she heard an attempt to get rid of a person's remains like unwanted trash. "Does her team and friends know? They have to care enough to wonder why she isn't getting a burial."

"I tried to tell her team this morning." Jaune paused as his mouth let out a hiccup. "They…they said they could always find a replacement. When I told them about how they were going to get rid of her body, they said it's nothing to worry about. They didn't even care what happened to her; they made it sound like she was just a bad memory to them too."

Pyrrha figured that there must have been some Faunus prejudice against Aqua if her teammates could speak so ill of her like that. "Then…what about her family? There has to be someone who cares about her."

"The whole reason why she did this was because the White Fang has her brother hostage. This all happened because she was alone." Tears dripped from the slits of the hands of the one who couldn't hold his anguish in any longer. "When we finally got together by chance, I couldn't stop her. If I could have done something simple as that, she wouldn't have died. It feels like all of the bad things are happening because I let some news and videos let me believe everything was going to be okay."

" **Dustarnit, the pressure is getting to him now. I hoped you could stop it for yours and his sake, but it seems like letting it out is better than keeping it in."**

For the invincible warrior, she realized her eyes were also tearing up from the pain inside her chest. Unsure if this was what Lou was referring to, she still felt compelled to wrap her arms around the boy's head and pull it into her chest.

"Don't… don't do this. Don't feel sorry for me."

Pyrrha held on as her partner tried to pull away. "I can't do that, not when you're taking on the burden of an adult's responsibility. You need this even more because you can't allow yourself to feel this way." She gently had a hand press on Jaune's cheek and push it up so her eyes could find the boy's teary face. "You already saw what happened when Aqua didn't have anyone. Getting into the same situation won't work out for you while you're on this mission."

"I'm not alone," Jaune sniffed. "That's why I'm trying to do this with the others in the city."

"But they don't understand you as well as your teammates," Pyrrha corrected as she hugged the blonde's head again. With as much sympathy and kindness she could give, she said, "Jaune, you can trust me with your sadness just as I did with you when nobody saw me a as a person. I'll always be there to help make things bearable for times like this."

Acting on the compassion she believed a friend could give, Pyrrha didn't care about her recent or current worries. All she did was wait as the young Arc leaned his head into her chest, placed his forehead against her metallic breastplate, near her heart.

"Th-thanks Pyrrha; I-I just need to let this pass." Still sniffing as his tears came down, Jaune placed an arm over the seat beside him so his weight wouldn't weigh down on his partner. "I promise this won't happen again. I just…need to let this go."

Quick to be considerate, the redhead raised a hand and used her magentism to have the cockpit door close. After that, she pressed her chin on top of her friend's head and had one hand gently go through the male's messy hair. She remained this way even when the engine's humming stopped with the Bullhead's landing.

What made their prolonged stay possible was Lou slipping away and knocking out the pilot with an Aura surprise attack. Pyrrha wasn't even aware that the family heirloom was supporting her as it was all a part of its plan related to the lifestyle known as Luminessence.

* * *

A/N: So any thoughts on this kind of perspective? If people like it, I wouldn't mind doing this for other characters later on, maybe change a couple of chapters in the past.


	19. Lifted Darkness

Chapter 18: Lifted Darkness

A/N: Hi everyone, I'm back! After hearing the RWBY Volume 3 announcement, I decided to update this as celebration. I'm also going to try and finish this in time for the Inkitt fanfiction contest that was gratefully given to me by the reader, GretaJohnsen.

I also have a twitter that will show up on the profile and here (alongside my co-writer's who encouraged me to come back on...a.k.a the original guy who owned this profile). Updates for this and future stories will be put!

/editerminator1

Okay, so back to Jaune for now. This is also when the others will begin approaching the next area of conflict.

* * *

Jaune walked through the city's streets with heart feeling lighter than it was this morning. Although he wasn't in tip top shape, he was glad for his better mood thanks to his supportive partner.

"I'm assuming your grin and healthy stride are signs you're feeling better," Pyrrha said without losing stride.

"I am thanks to you. What you said to me…really helped me let things go." Jaune took a deep breath of the cold air to feel his chest wasn't as tight as before. "I'm really glad we had that kind of talk with each other."

The redhead looked away, to hide her face away from the blonde's eyes. "Well, our relationship does involve making sure the other is in good condition whether it be body or mind. We had to cover both so your soul would be at ease."

"Really? I never thought of it like that." Jaune licked his lips as they suddenly felt dry from a sudden thought that tickled his very nerves. "If that's how it is, maybe we should look more into it later when we have time."

The boy noticed his partner was staring at him with wide, green eyes. Trying to keep his calm, he added, "And that's…only if we have time. We're kind of busy right now, so it's nothing to worry about, maybe have it in mind so we can figure out what to say later?"

" **Keep calm, my boy."** For the best or worst, Lou's voice came in after staying eerily quiet for most of the morning. **You're doing fine. The two of your are so close on wavelengths, skin contact will soon become the sole way of satisfying anything."**

" _That is…just stop it. And how do you know what Pyrrha is feeling anyways?"_

" **It's called a man's intuition. With that said, you better keep talking or else I'm going to yell at you for ruining the mood."**

Jaune didn't understand the words until he heard Pyrrha ask, "And what is there to exactly figure out? I'm asking because I want to be sure we're on the same page."

The boy felt his courage wane as the girl's question forced him to digress more. However, thoughts of the times he hesitated encouraged him to force his courage back into the right place. "I want us to know how much closer we can get, more than I could have been with anyone else right now.

For a moment, the red-haired beauty of Juniper remained silent. Her blank face worried Jaune enough to make him reconsider a correction the moment things became too awkward for them.

"I'd…like that. We could give that a try later." Pyrrha's smile came to full form after she responded with a melodic voice. "Once things get settled with this investigation, we can definitely explore this option together."

Jaune suddenly had the urge to do something to show he meant his bold suggestion. Whether it was a kiss on the cheek or briefly holding hands, his senses yelled at him to do something. The 'senses' were really Lou's voice yelling from his innards to act as a man.

"Jaune! Pyrrha! Over here!"

Hearing their names made the owners jump. Their quick recovery allowed them to pinpoint this voice that came from Ruby, who wore her Slayer clothes. This made Jaune curse his luck as he missed his chance to say something more. His mood changed when Pyrrha slid a hand from his neck down his shoulder.

"Thanks for giving me something to look forward to." The strong redhead winked as she walked away to join the others ahead. "For now, stay brave and be mindful. We can't be careless as we approach the danger zone."

Hearing Pyrrha's switch to a no-nonsense attitude became somewhat of a turn-on for Jaune. During his walk alongside his future lover, he heard Lou snicker in the back of his mind.

" **Wow, if there wasn't an actual attraction towards your future sweetheart, I would have taken over and led her over to an inn so the carnal boundaries can be settled."**

" _If you ever control me like that, you're getting sent straight back home in a box made of Nullstone."_ Jaune huffed as his answer seemed to make his family heirloom laugh out loud.

" **Lighten up, that was only a joke. On a serious note, we now have the first Arc wife handled. Number two is about to come up for the taking."**

While the owner had no intention of participating in this plan, his curiosity made him unconsciously focus his eyes onto Weiss, the white-haired heiress talking to Pyrrha and the other girls. This action made him feel instant regret because he thought he was over her since the dance.

" **Okay, weird. I was talking about the beauty of shadows, a beast that slinks and prowls with such a lovely grace."**

The details had Jaune glance over at Blake, the only one exchanging eye contact with him. He felt his breathing stop from seeing her eyes glow with beautiful amber. Again, he felt guilty because he just remembered Sun also had an interest in the lovely lady of darkness. His recent confession to Pyrrha made his consciousness tie a noose of guilt around his head.

" **Get over it. In this time period, you're allowed to see more than one girl. Did you know Blake's culture also allows someone to have marriage with more than one partner?"**

The news created so much shock, Jaune ended up like a zombie as everyone else made plans for their investigation. He was never truly aware of this part of Faunus culture and to hear it from Lou of all intelligent lifeforms made him feel anxious about his presence near Blake's.

"Jaune, you're looking better." The soothing voice came from the cat that was the center of the boy's every concern. "Or maybe you're just not sad anymore. Is everything alright?"

"Yeah…yeah, I'm just peachy." The blonde Arc did his best to sound more goofy than irritated while he wished every divine punishment to come upon Lou for his mention of polygamy. "Speaking of peaches, are we going to have a chance at getting something to eat? There wasn't much time for breakfast this morning."

Jaune saw that the girls responded with expressions mixed in annoyance and amusement. Only Lou hummed with approval as the jewel knew what he was trying to do.

"I guess you can get something by going that way." Ruby aimed a finger at a path that led towards the more developed part of the city. "Meanwhile, the rest of us will go this and that way. We can all go with our partners because two sets of eye are better than one while we have Sun and Neptune coming in later."

"Actually, I'll be switching with Pyrrha to be Jaune's partner for the time being." This request came from Blake, who glanced at Jaune and her female counterparts to see their bulging eyes. "I didn't have much to eat either. I figured going someone with a similar issue would be better than slowing down someone who's not."

Yang hugged her kitty partner and whined, "But Blake, we can eat something down our lane. Are you trying to ditch me because of what happened with the Captain?"

The news of his friend caught Jaune's attention. "You mean Steele? He did something to you?"

"Yes, but we don't need to talk about it."

"Are you sure? You kind of hissed at him when he adjusted your collar." Yang pointed at the part of Blake's clothing she just mentioned. "And we know he did it out of his habit from being in the military. Don't be so hard on one of the few decent guys I know."

The amber-eyed brunette glared at her partner and hissed, "I never asked him to touch me. And why are you defending him so much?"

"Because you two need to learn how to work things out. The two of you have been at each other's throats since the first meeting. And after he's been helping us out, I think it'll be better for the two of you to try and find some common ground in the near future."

Yang's suggestion made Jaune feel relieved that he wasn't going to hear another Atlas and Faunus debate go on again.

Weiss cleared her throat to break up the ongoing conversation. "Do I need to remind everyone that we have a schedule to keep? This might be important, but not much considering our situation."

"You're right, we've wasted enough time." Blake quickly grabbed Jaune by his shoulder and pulled him away towards their intended direction. "We'll keep in touch by Scrolls. Yang, make sure you explain to Pyrrha the search plan."

"O-okay, see you two later." Yang's hesitant voice matched the mood of the others who appeared confused by Blake's action. Jaune believed he won second in that contest, the first being Pyrrha as her hand shook in restraint to reach out for him.

As Ruby waved and yelled, "You two be careful!" Jaune allowed Blake to drag him down the city's sidewalk and navigate him by his shoulder so they wouldn't hit anyone. When he was ready, he balanced himself into an upright stance. "Okay, can you explain to me what's going on? I'm sure you didn't pull me away so we could eat something together."

"I only used the same excuse you did because your intentions aren't exactly secret either." The calm Faunus also stood up and adjusted her black hair bow. "I bet you're going to the place that Aqua told you about before she killed herself, aren't you?"

The boy felt instant sadness at the mention of Aqua's sudden death as he figured nobody else mentioned this out of courtesy. This thought was why a wave of anger filled his head, a feeling that guided him to roughly pull Blake into a nearby alley.

"Yeah, I was planning to do that," Jaune answered as he let go of his classmate and placed a hand on a wall. "But you didn't have to say she killed herself."

"Then how else would I have said it?" Blake asked as she placed her hands onto her hips. "And why are you getting emotional? This isn't the time for that if you're planning to do any good with the information she gave you."

Jaune felt his anger grow as he listened to the callous Faunus. His tears were already gone thanks to Pyrrha, which left him only with resentment against any harsh mention of his dead, Faunus friend.

" **Okay, calm down. You're calm, right? Don't do anything rash in a shady place like this."**

"I'm trying not to get emotional," Jaune said to answer both Lou and Blake. "But I'm still not over it. I'm sorry if there's any harshness from me, but the fact she was killed like that makes it so hard for me to accept at times."

The Faunus remained silent for a minute, leaving the boy confused about his move. Blake made hers by gently brushing past the Human to stop at the spot behind him.

With her back facing Jaune, Blake's fingers appeared on her sides as she crossed her arms across her chest. "I didn't mean to sound rude. Facts are facts, but at the same time, you're not used to deaths like this."

"Of course not. How could anybody be used to a friend doing something so terrible to herself like that?" Jaune suddenly found one thought that he didn't realize was bothering him until now. Being led into a depressed state, he finished, "How could…Aqua do that when she could have believed in our promise to stay together?"

"Because life must have been too hard for her to bear." This answer from Blake had Jaune feel his heart tighten to the point where it was getting bad as his time with Pyrrha in the Bullhead. He didn't feel better as the Faunus continued, "And it happens. Sometimes, people make the choice to end the pain themselves."

Jaune closed his eyes and shook his head to blank out thoughts of Aqua's action. "Stop it, I don't want to hear that. Please, just stop."

"But I have to for your sake and mine, so can you hear me out a little longer?"

The Arc boy looked up at the mention this was for him. This made him see Blake, whose beautiful face was ruined by unexpected grief.

"Yes, she gave up. She took her own life from believing there was nothing more she could do in her situation." The Faunus used one hand to grip her other arm, a stance reflecting her obvious pessimism.

Regardless, her eyes never looked away. Strength remained in her voice as she finished, "But she made her choice to believe in you. And maybe she's right to believe the army can't help, the same notion that made Professor Ozpin entrust you and Ruby with the tasks that led us here today. That's why no matter what happens to her body, she at least entrusted some hope to you. From my position as a bystander, that's really the only righteous act she could have done above all others."

A sense of purpose filled Jaune with so much relief, he couldn't feel as negative anymore. The bits of self-blame that stuck to his consciousness seemed to detach themselves so his guilt didn't have him under its deadly weight.

"I never took you to be this type of person, Blake," Jaune said as he didn't know what else to talk about for the moment. "But why bother telling me this?"

"Because you made the effort to help not a Faunus or Human, but a person in pain." Blake breathed in through her nose before releasing it out of her mouth. "I also feel some regret for not being able to help her when I realized she was in pain. It just seemed like the next best thing was to make sure you weren't affected by what happened."

Jaune felt instant gratitude for the Faunus as she hinted that she went out of her way to help him, a reason for her to come together with him. Lou added to this belief by saying, **"You lucky bastard, getting two girls to take care of you in one day. And since we're in an alleyway with this mood, you could get some more things done without anyone else getting in the way."**

The owner of the perverted necklace sighed from the ill-gotten notion. Focusing back onto Blake, he said, "Well, thanks for this. I feel like you've also done something like this before with other people."

"You can say that. Where I came from, these situations tend to appear more than once." As Blake began to walk towards the alleys exit, her voice grew to almost a whisper . "Both a victim and witness, I could understand the need for people to talk about these kind of things."

Hearing the sad tone in brunette's voice had Jaune run after her so he could catch up. Back on the street full of people, he said asked "So there isn't anything you want to say about that?"

"No, there's nothing to know about me," the Faunus simply replied. "And while we're walking, send me the coordinates to the place with your Scroll. I'd like to know details of the area before we get there, even if it's by map."

Jaune took out his device to carry out the request. Without looking up, he said, "So there's nothing you can share with me? I'd like to know something about you since you've been smart enough to understand a lot of things that are going on."

"I'm not that smart," the modest girl replied as her device beeped. When she took it out and looked at the screen, her eyes scanned what should have been coordinates to the place Aqua gave to Jaune. "And it looks like we're heading to the docks, an old one used by ships carrying around the city's garbage."

Jaune became curious as his current partner said the info from the top of her head. "Really? How can you tell?"

"Because I've read about that part of the city from a-." Blake's walk became stiff as she said more than intended. The boy noticed this enough to urgently ask, "From what? Come on, you were just about to say it."

"From…from a brochure." The Faunus in disguise appeared embarrassed and slightly surprised that said this information. "It's not weird to read things when there's time, is it?"

Jaune blinked his eyes as he couldn't believe the brunette was portraying shyness. Willing to share some humiliation, he said, "I would just take the brochure and try not to get lost. So no, it's amazing to know anyone could rely on you as their beautiful navigator."

Jaune quickly bit his tongue as the last part wasn't supposed to be explained. He heard Lou laugh, **"Yessir, power of the boners is strong in you, young one!"** The boy decided to not retort as it was his fault this time on how he wanted to just give his Faunus companion a compliment.

A small rumble went off in the air. Jaune looked around for the source with some wariness. When he heard it again, he managed to pinpoint the source that was Blake's stomach. He looked up at the owner to see that her cheeks were growing red.

"Oh, so you were hungry." Stating the obvious, the blonde glanced around to see several food stalls were in the distance. "We can stop by there before heading out since we're not in a hurry to get there."

"It's fine," Blake objected with a slight shake of her head. "There's no need to do that."

Jaune frowned as he was getting tired of hearing the Faunus denying him constantly. Grabbing her hand, he began to drag the cat towards their new destination. "I insist. Come on, we can't do this on an empty stomach. You should have been more honest about this in the first place!"

When Blake tried to pull away, Jaune only gripped harder as they walked on. This struggle lasted for a few seconds before he heard, "Okay, fine. Let's not make a scene while we do this." This had the blonde somewhat smile while he released his hold.

"But I swear if you pull on me like that again, you'll miss using two utensils at once in the meals that come after."

Jaune nervously laughed as Blake walked past him with a stride filled with sass, a style taught by Weiss herself. While the boy was glad the girl wasn't going to carry out her threat, he also felt some happiness for knowing he could spend more time with the girl.

" **Hue hue hue, that was quite forceful of you Jaune. I can't wait to see the push and pull you'll put into this later."**

The blonde didn't understand the full meaning of the sexual innuendo. This didn't stop him from putting his guard up as Lou could only say inappropriate things when it laughed with its 'Hue' noise. _"Look, can we not talk too much about this while we're eating?"_

" **Fine,"** Lou sighed from the depths of Jaune's mind. **"But I really have to wonder, do you have enough zenis to buy her the food? Cause making her pay after your invitation is not a good scenario, kid."**

" _Well of course I do."_

" **Really? Cause I damn well don't see a memory involving your wallet going into your pocket!"**

Jaune had one hand immediately look for his money carriage. When he felt nothing, his face grew pale while breathing became shallow from what was about to become a bad ending for him.

" **Holy Dust in a refinery, maybe you can get a few brain cells after this screw-up with Blake."** Lou's voice grew ominous as the two approached the stands. **"So, can you do some impromptu before this disaster?"**

* * *

A/N: Well…shit, Jaune's in for a nasty ride. Or will Lou come save the day, save the date between the lovely Human and Faunus?


	20. Dock Hospitality

Chapter 19: Dock Hospitality

A/N: Hey readers, I have a really special announcement to make. Please consider reading it by the end of this chapter as it's pretty important.

But the note I could make now is that Yang Deathbattle by Screwattack and the first episode of RWBY is going to happen this week. Hope everyone is looking forward to it.

* * *

"Jaune, this is ridiculous. We need to go back."

Blake tried to return to the food stall, yet was stopped by a hand from Jaune. The boy made sure his other hand had a firm grip on his crepe made in a Japanese style. "I said it's fine. That necklace was only one of the many, so it's easily replaceable."

"Jaune, the jewels on that necklace are neither fake nor cheap. It has to be worth more than two treats from a snack cart."

The young Arc pulled on one part of his shirt to reveal Lou was still on his person. "Relax, see? Like I said, my parents have more of these. They said to use the necklace in place of lien when there's an emergency."

"And this counts as an emergency?" Blake stared at herown crepe that had bits of cream dripping from one side. "We're not starving to death and this isn't a cure for a disease. How can this be an emergency?"

"Because you're hungry, what else could be more important?" Jaune took a bite out of his that he bought to make sure the Faunus didn't feel alone with her need to dine. Swallowing his piece, the boy walked on while he motioned his head to encourage Blake for her to follow.

Taking slow steps, the brunette eyed her wrapped treat before she raised the uncovered part into her mouth. When her teeth crunched into the crepe, her eyes rolled back before closing shut. Apparently, the taste was grand for her, a sign that Jaune enjoyed seeing as he bit into his own food.

" **Like that? Better thank me for me using my light clone technique! Believe it when I can make miracles happen**!"

" _I'm thankful, but only this once_." Jaune's newfound guilt of cheating the food stall owner poisoned his soul. " _And how long will the copy of that necklace he has last_?"

Lou sighed from being displeased by " **For as long as I want, so no worries. Once he trades that in for zenis, I'll let it go.** " When its owner said nothing, the necklace promised, " **Alright, I'll swear on my honor as Lou Caliber, your mentor in the ways of manhood and Luminessence**."

Jaune actually believed this as he figured his necklace was somewhat good amongst all of its evil. This thought gave form to immediate regret as the boy knew his own mind could hide nothing from the devious family heirloom.

"It's really exaggerated to say my hunger is a priority above others." Blake's strict words didn't match her soft eyes that were aiming at the treat in her hand. "When you try to be considerate, be simpler than this just as I'm saying thank you for buying this when thinking of me."

The Faunus's show of gratitude coupled with her gentle face made Jaune feel ever more a valued person than he ever was. Feeling confident, he swallowed the last bit of his eaten snack and burned the wrapper in his hand into bits with help from his Aura. "Then I'll simply say you're welcome. And just in time too; it looks like our place is just ahead of us."

Both students of Beacon focused their attention on the border separating the concrete road from soft earth. At the end of this new location was a path made of wooden planks leading towards a harbor filled with boats and buildings of ancient design.

What made this place by the sea so different was how most of it appeared worn-down. A victim of old age, the place was dirty enough to make even an experienced girl like Blake show displeasure as she slowly swallowed her eaten crepe.

"You mentioned we're looking for the S.S. Wild as we were waiting for the food." The Faunus walked on ahead, making Jaune quicken his pace so he could keep up. "Since the White Fang wouldn't consider putting their ship out in the open, we'll need to investigate deep into the area to make sure they're still here."

Jaune inwardly sighed as the Faunus pointed out the work he didn't want to do.

" **Suck it up. If Blake is going to make you her Alpha, you need to show your vigorous side**."

" _Would you stop that?! I don't even know why you're bringing up the topic of marriage when we're still this young_!"

Jaune didn't realize his argument was actually distracting him from the silent walk that involved Blake's attention to not him, but her surroundings out of caution. " _I even have my thing with Pyrrha coming up. Don't tell me that doesn't matter to you in any way_!"

" **It does and doesn't. Meaning traditions like that might not matter because the future will surely rely on how you deal with more than one relationship. It'll actually involve one crucial bit of Luminessence that I'll be sure to teach you later**."

Jaune was having enough of Lou's 'teachings' that continuously made him question his own morality as a human being. This suddenly drove an instant moment of insanity that made Jaune feel something like cracks around his chest.

" **Whoa, that was weird. You okay, kid**?"

" _I think so. My chest felt a bit tight for a minute. It feels kind of familiar too for some reason_."

Jaune heard Lou somewhat stutter as if the necklace had an answer. He never had the chance to ask as a soft hand pressed on the side of his arm.

"Are you alright?"

"Huh?" Jaune refocused to see Blake's worried face. Confused on why, he then realized his hand was pressed against his armored chest. It was there where the pain came from, where his heart was beating in an unusual rhythm.

Not wanting to worry the Faunus, the Arc lad waved his hand up and down. "Yeah, I'm fine. There must have been something in the snack that gave me a problem."

"It must have been bad for you to react as you did." Blake's words revealed that the blond was acting worse than he realized. This made the boy conscious enough to add, "Did I ever mention my problem might involve some lactose intolerance?"

The false info made the brunette stop in her tracks on a spot near one of the dirty warehouses. "As in the condition that prevents you from digesting milk products? You somehow forgot this detail when we were buying the food."

Hearing a sharp tone placed Jaune on the edge enough for him to feel irritation. "It was hard to think when I thought your eyes sparkled after looking at the picture of the crepes."

"Why would you have that kind of ridiculous assumption? We don't have time to make mistakes like this when we're on a mission." Blake's eyes suddenly widened from epiphany before they narrowed into those of suspicion.

" **Yeah, I know that look. She really thinks you're hitting on her which is sad because you're not**."

Although his anger became direct at Lou, Jaune couldn't stop it from showing in his voice. "No, I really did it to make sure you weren't hungry anymore. Before we risk our lives, we shouldn't feel like ignoring the things that bother us."

"That is not a sound mindset. Needs like hunger and bodily relief should be secondary to survival." Blake looked away as if ashamed of what happened. "In fact, I shouldn't have had this break time. My focus is all over the place because of you."

"Then rest, it's not a big deal." Jaune was beginning to see that something was erratic about the black cat. "We're making good time since it's hours before sundown. Acting agitated like this is making me feel the same and the last thing I want is to see you get hurt."

Blake's frown never disappeared, although her eyes showed more worry than anger. After remaining silent for a minute, she slowly said, "My attitude isn't coming from the mission. It's more from how you've been handling it so far. Don't you think you should be more careful with the way you approach things?"

Jaune wasn't sure what exactly his companion was talking about. With the best of what he did understand, he replied, "If you're talking about how stupid I might have been so far, then I don't have a clue. Really, you could start giving directions just as long as you're positive doing your way would help the both of us turn out okay."

The Arc boy felt sheepish with his reply because he believed he was not addressing the problem. What he didn't expect was to see Blake pat his shoulder in a comforting manner.

"You might lack insight, but your heart is in the right place." The brunette pulled away with slender fingers trailing off the clothes, their touch leaving a tickle on the spot for Jaune to feel static from. "Forget what I said and let's keep checking around the place. We should find something soon, maybe around the corner there."

Jaune became afraid that he angered his companion. Lou's reaction was completely the opposite when it laughed, " **Wow, we got a walking diary here. She's keeping all of her poetry and entries locked up nice and tight for us not to see**."

" _So_ y _ou know what's going on? I'm pretty clueless at this point_."

" **Can't say it because it could ruin the mojo of your goodie goodie self. If my guess is right, you two are forming a connection for me to ride a signal on**."

" _That doesn't sound accurate at all. And if there is a secret, don't tell me unless it's absolutely necessary. I definitely know Blake's the type of person who shares what she wants when she's ready_."

" **See, that consideration is the key. I could also see why she did that therapy session on you earlier. She's like a prince trying to protect her princess's chastity; your purity is the light to the darkness that lies within her heart**."

Jaune felt annoyed that he was being compared to a princess, a total opposite to that of cultural gender roles. Further thinking stopped when the doors of the building behind him abruptly opened to make way for a small person. When the figure almost ran into him, Jaune's shock accidentally made him accidentally unleash a **Lumen Burst** that knocked the newcomer backwards onto his teeny ass.

"Ouch, what was that for?" The midget turned out to be a young boy wearing a ragged, white shirt and khakis over his light skin. While his clothes including brown sandals and green bandana were normal, the strangest detail was how there were white, fox ears sticking out from his head.

Before Jaune could ask who the kid was, he heard, "Get that piece of shit!" This came from the people coming out from the same building. Every one of the bodies were wearing attire belonging to the White Fang.

"Uh oh," the kid said before he ran behind Jaune. Annoyed he was being used a shield, the Arc boy didn't make a fuss since he also understood him and Blake may be the child's only guardians in this case.

"Intruders? Who the hell was guarding the gates?"

"There are no gates, dumbass. This place is supposed to look deserted so nobody comes around here except for our guys." The one that answered his fellow member aimed a sword the younger trio's way. "And fuck orders, nobody is going to miss a brat. Kill all of them."

Jaune had his sword the moment he heard 'Fuck'. Blake did the same with her own weapons right as the group did the unusual procedure of walking backwards.

The Arc boy made a grab for his shield and placed it in front just as several of the soldiers with guns fired. Making sure the kid was fine behind him, the blond boy glanced at the side to see Blake parry the bullets with graceful bladework.

Through the storm of bullets, the Faunus bravely approached the attack group. Right as she used a shadow to rush in, the other soldiers came in the way with hands holding onto strange devices. Like the one Jaune had on him, the objects sprung out a thin metal that expanded into square-shaped shields. It was these that Blake bounced off of, flying backwards onto the ground with no backflip planned out to break her fall.

Jaune already knew she would be dazed by her rebound, which was why he was already in front of her with the child still behind him. Over the gunfire splattering all over his shield, he yelled, "Are you alright?!"

Blake raised her weapon in its gun form and fired. When the bullet grazed past his head, Jaune looked up to see a body fall off of a nearby roof. While grateful for the help, he didn't feel well when he noticed more White Fang soldiers appear at the same spot.

"Hey, aim your shield at the roof guys." This suggestion came from the young lad whose name wasn't revealed as of yet. "I know this is weird, but do it now and I'll take care of the ones attacking us on the ground there."

Jaune didn't know what to do as he saw Blake continue shooting at the rooftop shooters. His lack of action was why the white-haired boy sighed out loud before he ran around the blond.

"Hey wait, come back kid! It's not safe there!"

"I'm not a kid, the name's Caelum!" the child replied as a veil of wind surround his body. Like a cyclone, his swirling defense made several bullets divert the incoming missiles as he took in a deep breath. When his stomach bulged, he released a huge breath of wind at the forward attackers to knock them onto their backs.

Jaune remained incredulous for a moment before he directed his shield towards the roof to block the bullets. As he felt his Aura restore back after protecting him earlier, he also saw Blake take initiative when by running up the wall of the building the shooters were on.

This had the Arc lad realize he also had work which he began by taking out his sword again. Charging energy into the blade, he then slammed it down on the ground. From the weapon, a white wave of energy, **Luminous Shine** , burst forward to run into the ground forces with a shining explosion. This left bodies flying, some left unconscious on the floor as the attack was too much for them. The others regained their ground and charged on to meet the boys in close combat.

Unwilling to let Caelum get hurt, Jaune moved to meet the first soldier with a bash from his shield. As he took him down, number two attempted to smash his head in with a club only to miss. Using his Aura-enhanced senses, the Arc lad didn't need his eyes to know a roll allowed him to dodge a dagger. He swung Crocea Mors with heavy swings to parry blows from soldiers three and four as his body gathered power for his next attack.

Guided by an unknown force, Jaune cried, " **Lumen Burst**!" before pure energy blew out from his body. Soldiers one through four were knocked down while the last, a bulkier one, stood his ground and grunted from the force of the blond's attack.

"Gonna have to do more than that, human bitch." The bulky Faunus of the White Fang slammed a fist into his own chest. Caelum suddenly appeared in front of his face with feet unleashing tornadoes that helped him stay afloat.

"Not a nice word to say, asshole." The white-haired Faunus twisted his body to have his hiney aim at the soldier before he farted. The noxious smell suddenly increased when an air blast from the same source slammed the hostile muscleman to the ground.

Caelum landed on the ground with a smirk before he taunted, "Ha, I guess it doesn't take one to be one when you can't handle it." His attempt to convey irony left Jaune wary as he came over to slam the flat part of his blade onto the fallen soldier's head, thus ending their battle.

" **Holy Dust, this is Aqua's brother?! I guess the spunk is there, but this kid is showing way more attitude than that frost princess you still have the hots for**."

Jaune agreed as he did see some of the former sister's traits of boldness within the boy. Such resemblance saddened him as he had to think about Aqua again.

Sounds of battle from the rooftop had Jaune look up only to see two bodies slam into nearby crates. His wince at the sight didn't have him miss Blake, who swung down from the roof to land on the ground. There, she yanked her ribbon to have its blade return back into the place of her weapon's empty handle.

"It looks like you two did fine here." The Faunus surveyed the area to see the unconscious members of the White Fang. She then faced Caelum and asked, "So why were they chasing you? I hope you didn't wander far away from your parents."

"Naw, I was a prisoner here," the kid replied as he shrugged his shoulders. "When sis didn't reply back for a long time, I decided to ditch the joint and go find her at Beacon. The escape didn't work out very well, but it looks like my luck held when the two of you happened to be here."

Caelum suddenly smiled after he faced Jaune. "And I just remembered why you looked familiar. You're Jaune, the guy Aqua talked about every now and then. Did you two ever get to hook up?"

The blond boy felt cold as he realized the younger lad had no idea what happened to his older sibling. He silently looked to Blake only to find her sad eyes indicating she also made the same realization he did. Her silence only added to the one that was going on right now, a pregnant pause that was misunderstood by one of three here.

"Okay, I get it that I might have shared an unintentional crush my sister had for you before you two hooked up, yada yada yada. Can you already give her an answer so we won't have to go through the drama crap?"

Jaune was still unsure on how to answer the boy. Blake; however, came to the rescue by kneeling next to Caelum. "So you're Aqua's brother. I didn't know you were being held captive here. Could you tell me your name?"

"It's Caelum." The white-haired child suddenly smiled with the innocence only those of his age could present. "And I didn't see it until now, but you look really beautiful up close. I can't believe you're the same person who just kicked ass a while ago."

Jaune couldn't believe what he just heard. He also couldn't believe that such a compliment made Blake smile.

" **If some brat manages to woo her before you, then you will get your virginity lost to by a prostitute. After that, I'm sure you'll be more willing to go after her; you can leave it to me to find a babysitter for that kid."**

For strange reasons, Jaune found himself almost agreeing to the plan. He wasn't sure why, but seeing the obvious tact of Caelum appealing to Blake's better side left him uncomfortable by pure instinct.

"So you guys are here!" Two people suddenly rushed in from the same path that led to the entrance. One turned out to be a smiling Sun while the other was Neptune, who panted like he was having a heart attack. "Did the two of you have a huge fight just a while ago?"

Jaune nodded and waved a friendly greeting just as a smiling Blake said, "We did. Did it attract a lot of attention in a far distance?"

"Not really, we just saw it because we were coming in by a Bullhead. We would have been here sooner too, but Neptune slowed us down."

The mentioned gunner glared at his leader. "That was your fault. If you didn't jump out, the pilot wouldn't have also kicked me out because of school policy!"

"It was only five miles. I don't see why it has to be a problem for you." Sun jerked back as his partner waved his hands in the air and exclaimed, "I'm still full from the meal we had earlier. Don't blame me if I don't have the same type of metabolism like you do!"

"And you're not going to be ready for the tournament if you keep acting like this." The monkey noticed the white-haired Faunus standing near Blake. "And is that a kid? Why is he hanging with you guys?"

Jaune tried to explain, but his former friend's brother stepped up with hands on hips. "I have a name and it's Caelum. Who the hell are you supposed to be?"

The question, more its tone, made Sun convey annoyance. "I'm someone who's actually supposed to be here on a mission. Shouldn't you be going back to your family before you get hurt?"

"I don't feel like explaining myself to a wannabee Hunter." Caelum crossed his arms as he looked to Blake with a soft frown. "Please don't tell me you have more idiots like this guy here. You and Jaune were already doing a good job."

"Well, he's a friend who's been reliable on certain occasions." Blake's tone was filled with certainty, one that showed her respect for the spiky-haired Faunus. "He's even a leader of his own team like Jaune is here, so there's some credit to his abilities."

Caelum stared at the blond monkey in disbelief before he sighed, "Well, that makes sense. Aside from the few of you guys, I could see why they had to send people younger than a graduated Hunter here. The standards are a lot lower than what they're supposed to be."

"That's it, are you looking for a fight? Cause you'll get if you keep acting like this!"

Sun gave more exclamations while Neptune tottered over to the ocean to have his head disappear over the port's edge. Heaves and ejected food wastes made Jaune feel sad that the gunner had to go through his ordeal.

With mind on the mission, Jaune looked back at Blake and asked, "So we know the White Fang is here now. Should we call the others so we could have some backup before going in?"

"Yes, we should. Sun, call Ruby on your Scroll while I use mine to contact Yang. We'll make our call inside the building. Neptune should guard one side of the building while Jaune does the same here."

The Faunus had her amber eyes meet Jaune's before they looked down at the waiting Caelum. Jaune realized she was giving him a moment to explain what had happened back in Beacon, what happened to Aqua. He nodded to show he understood, allowing Blake to take the lead so the monkey would follow her inside.

The Arc lad made sure Neptune was gone before he looked at Caelum. "Hey, we need to talk. Since we're not sure what's going to happen from here, it's better if we get this out of the way now."

"If you're going to tell me to leave, then forget it. I know this place in and out, so you'll need a guide if you're going to rescue as many people as possible." The young Faunus suddenly winked as he widely grinned. "I know this is kind of weird to share, but I want to become a student at Beacon someday. Sis always said you wanted to become a hero, so I'm hoping you'll give me a few pointers by the time I make it there."

Jaune felt terrible by the child's remark. It was even worse that Aqua who gave him these ideas was no longer here to give the sole survivor of their family comfort. With a deep breath, the blond leader placed his hands on top of Caelum's shoulder while both of his knees bent so their eye contact was could be at the same level.

"Please, just listen to what I have to say. Don't do anything else until you hear all of this." The Arc lad suddenly realized this was going to be the toughest discussion he's had in a long time and will always remember it as such in his future. "But when I'm done, you can act in any way you like. You can even blame me for what happened to your sister."

* * *

A/N: So the mission is green lit, but how exactly will Caelum play in all of this? That'll be what the coming chapter is about.

As for the announcement, I actually turned in one half of this fanfiction to Inkitt, another story website, for a writing contest. If any of you have time, please vote on it so it could have some chances of winning. If it does win, then it could also determine how I often I will spend time writing on this fanfic because it's not easy to spend my free time writing without the right kind of motivation.

Also check out my twitter account, editerminator1. If it doesn't show here, the link should be on my profile page.

So there will be a new perspective taken in the next chapter for the sake of giving diversity and such. Hopefully, it'll serve as good characterization for others.


	21. Intervention

Chapter 20: Intervention

A/N: Yep, this is Blake's POV in third-person. This is where the next big part of the story will begin, the climax of the story as you can say.

And readers, if you have time, please vote on this story on Inkitt. Tomorrow's the deadline, so any support would be appreciated.

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"Go, go, goooo!"

Ruby's battle cry began Blake's climb over a white edge. When her feet hit the deck, she rammed into all of the nearby WF soldiers with Semblance-made speed. When she reverted back to her tangible form, fading shadows and bodies littered the entire surface of the ship.

The Faunus raised her Scroll next to her ear. "My side is clear. How is everyone's?"

Different replies came from Ruby and Jaune. The Faunus looked over at the other ship parked in the water not too far from the one she was on. When she heard footsteps, the cat looked over to see her current team arrive to her spot. More explosions in the distance came from the warehouses that were on the nearby dock.

Jaune had his scroll next to his ear as he requested, "Nora, is everything okay?"

The phone blew out an explosive noise, an answer from the hammer-wielder who was busy doing her job. An insane laugh came after as, "We're okay, just breaking stuff here with Weiss, Neptune and Yang. Everything is getting blown into pieces!"

Nora's testament held true as a warehouse's roof blew up into pieces. Screams and shouts erupted like a volcano, making the current structure a hodgepodge of hell for those on the enemy side. Another explosion rocked from the neighboring boat likely caused by Sun, Pyrrha, and Ren.

"Alright, let's do a quick recap," Ruby announced as she placed Crescent Rose into its gun form. "Caelum told us these two ships have all of the prisoners onboard. It's our job to free them from the White Fang."

Blake nodded as she remembered the details given to everyone once they all gathered at the warehouse where they first met Caelum. It was then that she realized their mission to the docks was a treasure trove of the answers they were looking for regarding the White Fang activity. Prisoners acting as testimonies and informants were the start of something more into stopping the anti-Human group.

Jaune shared similar thoughts by adding, "Let's also find a room on the ship that will hold the soldiers. We need several of them so the right people can ask them questions about the White Fang."

"That sounds like the brig." Ruby covered an eye with one hand. "It sounds like we're going to be pirates today. That makes me the captain commandeering this ship."

"Then call me the King of the Pirates!"

The loud exclamation made everyone turn to see Caelum standing near them with a wide smile. Blake was the one to already ask, "What are you doing here? We already said you can't come because it's dangerous."

"That was before things got worse. Did you not see what happened over there?" The child aimed his finger at the dock's building that had walls burst into flames. The sounds of battle also carried on into another structure where cries of new victims began. "Your friends are getting a little out of hand, especially the one with blonde hair. She's way too hyper."

"That would be my awesome sister," Ruby admitted with a proud voice. "Her hype train is caused by the energy she gets from every damage that is dealt to her strong body."

Caelum didn't appear that impressed, more confused. "So the more she's hurt, the more power she has? I guess Aura works as defense, but what if Nullstone or Aura cancellation gets in the way?"

"We're low on time, so save the questions for later." Blake noticed the ship's entrance opened to let out several soldiers. Before she could act, Jaune slammed his sword down to let out a **Luminous Shine** that blew the bodies away and into unconsciousness. The Faunus noticed the Arc lad's eyes held both resolution and an unknown darkness.

"She's right. We need to move." With sword in both hands, Jaune looked over at Ruby and gave her a comforting smile. "Since you're in charge of commandeering, go on ahead and find the brig with Caelum. I'll find the control room with Blake, if she's okay with it."

The Faunus nodded as she figured the blond boy presented the best possible pairing. Ruby did the same and excitedly ran towards the entrance. "Come on, last one there is a rotten egg."

"There's no point when you're the speedy one!" Caelum suddenly ran when Ruby disappeared inside. "Wait, that's not fair! No Semblances allowed!"

Blake almost smiled as the young Faunus showed signs of his age. When she faced Jaune, all amusement went away as the lad's eyes were back to being narrow.

"Jaune, is everything alright?" The concerned question was answered by the boy's sudden run through the ship's iron door. This left the Faunus as the only one conscious on the deck.

A few seconds was all Blake needed to finally register that Jaune just ditched her, an action too erratic for someone like him. With a mix of annoyance and worry, the cat quickly ran inside. When she found two hallways leading in different directions, she remembered Caelum noted the right one should have led to the control room.

After some venturing, she eventually found another corridor that had doors on its walls, all open to reveal there were nobody inside. The mess indicated the original occupants were in a rush to get out. The blood stains gave the second insight that aggression was involved.

Careful of her surroundings, Blake eventually heard the sound of battle in the distance. Within a few steps of approaching it, the noise abruptly stopped. The Faunus hastened her steps and hoped Jaune's reckless actions didn't get him killed.

" **Hey…here!"**

Blake heard a voice in her head, but couldn't ponder more on it when she made a new discover. This finding involved a hallway full of WF soldiers lying on the ground. Unconscious or groaning, all of them were alive. However, Faunus didn't expect Jaune to have made such progress in a short amount of time.

" **Hello, right…Help**!"

This time, Blake searched for the source of the voice as she stepped on a body.

" **Right there! Can you hear me?!"**

The Faunus got off of the groaning body. She followed a hunch and turned the soldier over to find a white necklace on the floor. She realized this was the same accessory that Jaune wore out of nowhere one day.

" **Finally, you…me! Wait…me up!"**

Despite the broken words, Blake understood the message. The moment she picked up the necklace by its string, she heard the same voice sigh with much more clarity than before.

" **Much better. Now would you kindly deliver me to Jaune, who's gone batshit bonkers?!"**

The Faunus frowned at the sudden use of profanity from this strange item. "And what exactly are you supposed to be? Or is the jewel being used as a medium for your voice?"

" **Yeah, I'm a suicide hotline receiver giving advice on how you should live your life. If you know how to use it, you would do as I ask and send me to that dumbass!"**

Blake dropped the necklace and walked on as she didn't have time to argue with a trinket.

" **Wait…sorry…I'm…worried…Jaune!"**

The Faunus sighed when she heard the broken apology. With slight regret, she quickly picked the necklace back up before making her way to the next hallway.

" **Okay, good. Now, I'm sorry because things were a little rough between me and my stinking master. It doesn't help that he just chucked me to the ground after our little spat. By the way, we're also using telepathy for our conversation, so you could talk with your mind."**

Blake felt uncertain about the part where she could talk to the necklace with her mind. This stopped when she entered a hall that had White Fang members gathered at one of the end. Every of those heads turned while their hands held guns that clacked at ready.

"Look, there's one. Take her down!"

Blake quickly gripped her blade and stepped back with help from Semblance. This created a clone of her image that was made of hard earth that blocked the incoming bullets. She quickly took cover behind the statue and from there, accurately fired to make every shot hit.

" **Behind you, it's a camo bitch!"**

Blake quickly kicked the statue towards the group to distract them so she could aim her back at that direction. She jumped away as a statue of flames took her place just as a shimmer slammed its blade into it. The fire clone exploded right as Blake finished off the gunners from earlier. The cat looked back to see that her assailant became visible right while the cape that cloaked him turned off from a malfunction with its camo function.

" **Nice hustle. I shouldn't take favorites, but you're definitely one of my top five girls."**

The Faunus tried not to feel irritated as she moved over the unconscious gunners so she could run down a flight of stairs. At the bottom, she found a gray, spacious room that was eerily empty. Her attention came upon the door at the room's end that had the sound of clanking metal and bumps coming from the other side. Several yelps served as the evidence that Blake needed to see she arrived at this destination after Jaune.

" **So…I know who you are. Figures this is a good time for me to say my name is Lou, nice to meet you."**

" _You should explain more on how you know who I am and what your connection is with Jaune."_

" **Later because what you need to know is that Jaune's become a douchebag. The nerve of that prick after all I've done for him!"**

Blake only rolled her eyes as she figured Lou was being intolerable. Despite the jewel's concern for the Arc boy, the Faunus didn't give any trust when a talking necklace was one of many bizarre elements she's seen in her life.

Gunshots and screams abruptly rumbled from the room. Fully alert, Blake had her gun in one hand while her second rotated the door's circular latch. She peeked inside to see she arrived into a grim situation.

In a white room full of large machines, Jaune was at one end with shield up as the floor below him was filled with bodies of WF soldiers except for one. This armed rogue at the other side had an arm wrapped around a crying woman who wore red clothes over her copper skin. The detail that made Blake furious was how this red-haired hostage had brown, dog ears, the same ones set near the spot that was targeted by the barrel of a gun.

"You better stay back or the bitch gets it!" The lone, masked enemy dug his gun deeper into the woman's temple. "If the two of you let me outside, then I'll let the lady go, so move it! All of you brats!"

"How could you lay a hand on your own kin?!" With her own gun up, Blake made slow steps around one machine to block any escape for the hostile soldier. "She's one of the people you're fighting to liberate. Using her like this goes against your mission!"

The man became frantic as he aimed his gun down to shoot a round into his captive's leg. This only made the woman cry harder as her leg ran with blood from its wound. Blake stopped in her tracks with every sense of her being telling her to kill the hypocritical asshole.

"You little shits are so stupid! My lady friend here is about to bleed out, so if you two don't move it, then there's no point in being the heroes, is there?!"

Blake knew this was the truth. However, she also knew the enemy would lose his sole protection, the one Faunus that held her back from tearing off all of what made the soldier both a Faunus and man.

"Okay, we'll do what you say." This surrender from Jaune surprised many, especially his fellow classmate. "Just drop her off at the door when you get there. My friend is going to move for you, so don't do anything rash."

Blake couldn't decide if the blond boy's decision was right. This changed when she heard Lou remark, " **Jaune just asked for a recovery skill. He could restore her wounds and since you're the only one with a gun, it's better for you to take the shot. Capiece**?"

The brunette didn't even need to ask as she took aim at the hostage's shoulder and fired. While this made the woman scream louder, the shot pierced through enough to hit the soldier behind her in the same area. The pain surprised the captor enough to lose his grip and drop his hostage.

Hurt and without his insurance, the WF member raised the gun that was on his good arm. With a defiant shout, he was about to fire until the sharp tip of Jaune's transparent sword made by **Arc Save** stabbed into him and disappeared. With no Aura, the soldier couldn't even scream as Blake appeared in the air above his hunched form and fell to slam her knees into his back.

On the floor after a loud crunch, Blake began her brutal beatdown. "You hypocrite, you don't deserve that mask if you turn your back on your own race!" Despite her fury, the girl did her best to only leave bruises as she remembered she was a Hunter before an avenger. With one more punch, she made sure the soldier was unconscious before she stood up and turned to find the hostage in Jaune's, glowing arms.

" **Please talk some sense into this little puppy. Holy Dust, just because that bratty brother said what he said, Jaune thinks he needs to get himself hurt while playing the big bad hero**."

" _So Jaune's reckless behavior is coming from his talk with Caelum?"_ Blake's mouth remained shut as she kneeled down to see the wondrous sight of wounds closing from Jaune's procedure. " _Was Caelum so harsh that Jaune feels an obligation to have this mission finish as soon as possible?"_

" **Harsh? The little bastard said he's okay with what happened**!" Lou's revelation left the Faunus with questions she accidentally laid out in her mind for Lou to collect. " **But you know what, you should ask him without mentioning you know about me. After he almost killed himself and wouldn't consider your help, he's shit out of luck asking anything more from me**!"

Blake was almost convinced that Lou's anger was related to a wrong Jaune committed. She decided to find out herself by asking, "So how is she? Is she alright?"

"She's fine, just unconscious from the pain." With a despondent voice, Jaune laid down the woman whose body appeared better than before. "I'll go on ahead and see if Ruby and Caelum is okay. There might have been less guards down there, but it's always better to be careful."

Blake pulled on the boy's shoulder to make him stop. "No, we need to talk. So far, you've been displaying too much focus on working alone. Why couldn't you consider accepting my help and rushing through all of this? You should know better when you're the leader of a team."

When the Arc lad didn't say anything, the Faunus decided she had to take a different route. "And I'm not blind, Jaune. This happened right after you told Caelum about Aqua's death. Did he push you into action?"

"No, he didn't." With a heavy sigh, the blond teenager got up and walked away towards the door. As Blake followed, she heard, "But what he said did give me a reason to move. Really, how can anyone think it's normal for a kid to say he was okay knowing his sister might never come back? He even said it with a straight face...he even said she would never have blame me for this."

Outside in the huge, spacious room, Blake recognized the despair in Jaune's words. "So this isn't about any blames, but forgiveness? What reason do you have to be reckless then if it would only trouble everyone who's concerned for you?"

"I did it because I just realized we're not saving enough people! If anyone knew how to do things right, none of this would have happened in the first place!"

Jaune's face suddenly became enraged in a way that shocked even Blake. This expression only remained for a moment before it changed into sadness. Unfortunately, the anger was still present as the boy's hands were shaking because of his imprisoned indignation, the rage that was slowly consuming his soul.

Only the Faunus could have believed this as there was someone else who lived with such a dangerous emotion. To explore her observation, she remained firm when gently asking, "So you're taking it upon yourself to end this quickly, even if it means placing yourself at risk?"

"No, because I still need you and everyone else to do this right." Back to being calm, Jaune glanced back at the room that had the unconscious woman there. "But we rescued them way after Aqua did her thing. This happened way after Caelum accepted that he may never see his only family again. This happened…when I couldn't do anything about the riots back when all of us were still on that playground together."

Blake noticed Jaune raise an open hand. With palm facing up, a small ball of white Aura formed. Unlike the demonstration she's seen back before Jaune gained his fame, this one had a more solidified look to it with lines crisscrossing all over its surface.

"Aqua's death…Caelum's lost love had me realize if I'm going to save more people like them, I need to get more experience and power. The only way to get them is not to rely on those stupid simulations at school. The real lessons can only come from fights like the one we had."

Jaune gave an eerie smile that sent chills down Blake's spine, one that was simple, yet underlined a crooked soul. "And it's great that I found a way to unlock my potential. When I'm fighting with this power to take out the threats, I grow stronger every time. This could really help me…get rid of the world's evil. Nobody would ever have to be sad anymore."

Blake frowned as this moment showed her why she felt the need to console with Jaune about his emotions in the earlier part of the day. It wasn't just because of sympathy and a naïve wish to see innocence remain in the boy. It was more related to the fact that she wanted to rid the factors that would make the boy become similar to someone she knew.

While the difference was as night and day, Blake could see over Jaune a faint image of the crimson flower painted on the back of the black coat belonging to Adam Taurus. She didn't care much for the physical details, more of how her former mentor and Jaune were two beings shaped by the most troubling, convoluted times that would have broken normal people.

Blake's former mentor; however, was a man set in his ways. The worst part was how the Arc lad could also become a living embodiment of rage that relied on violence as an answer for every conflict.

" **Blake…I kind of changed my mind. Can you try and see if you can get that anger out of him in a way I couldn't? didn't see it before until now, but the kid's…broken from everything. You can at least find some sympathy to consider helping him, can't you?"**

Blake did along with the uncertainty that she could reach out to the boy this time. In fact, the thought of dealing with another Adam was intimidating because the older Faunus was always the stronger influence.

Yet, this didn't stop the Faunus from stepping towards the boy as he made his Aura ball vanish. When close, she raised her hand to have its flat end strike Jaune's face.

"Ouch, what was that for?!" The Arc lad complained as he took several steps back.

For Blake's part, she felt her own hand sting as Jaune's Aura unconsciously came up to deflect some pain of her attack. Keeping in mind of this reflex for later, the cat crossed her arms to show her annoyance. "That was for being a selfish bastard, Jaune. You're clearing trying to act like a man when you're really no better than a child."

As the brunette's words confused the blond boy, Lou cried, " **Oh yeah, give it to him girl! You slapped the bitch, now force the bitch out of him!"**

"I'm…sorry? I thought that's what we're supposed to do as Hunters." Jaune scratched his head with a hand as if he was trying to understand. "What I said is just part of growing up stage."

"No, it's not," Blake said as she furiously shook her head. "You only told me about a desire that could take you down a dangerous road. It's fine to be strong, but you can't have it centered around violence."

It was Jaune's turn to show anger, but not in the manner that resembled Adam's. "That doesn't make sense. How else do we get better? The Grimm is definitely not our main problem right now. Beacon isn't even teaching us how to handle situations like this, only teaching us how to fight a bunch of stupid beasts in a talking lecture."

"Those lectures might not be as good, but they're still building our foundations so we could be great in morals as we are in strength!" Speaking in a volume equal to Jaune's, Blake didn't falter in maintaining a sad, yet peaceful face. "What you don't see is that you're trying to make a perfect result from all of this."

Jaune shook his head as if to deny what he heard. "I'm not trying to be perfect, I'm trying to help everyone…I'm just trying to become a hero."

"And that is the fallacy, Jaune. Heroes are expected to be perfect. When you add this with an impossible mission like becoming the people's salvation, you'll only make things too difficult to where only the result matters more than the process."

The Arc lad suddenly presented the same face that made Blake see Adam once again. Even his voice was the same growl as he asked, "And what if the result matters more? What if I end up right and you're the one who's in the wrong? You can't say that when…when you're not me."

Blake instantly appeared in front of the boy with a shadow. She used a single hand to caress the boy at his cheek with her eyes staring into his. Despite known as a romantic gesture, this was common amongst those of the Faunus culture to give relief for those embroiled in an intense emotion like the one Jaune was in.

"I know because I've seen this happen. A man I admired for being strong became a monster worse than the Grimm." The cat pulled Jaune in so she could end her cultural gesture with a full hug. "His sadness became his reason to become angry at the world. When it's happening again with a friend…all I want to do is end the hatred."

"A friend…you're really calling me a friend?"

Blake almost smiled as she remembered Velvet asked Jaune the same question days ago. Spending time with the Arc lad had her realize she really did care to where she tried to help him. This reason might alos coincide with the fact that she wanted to succeed in where she failed when Adam was with her.

Pulling back, the Faunus said, "I can say that because while you're still eccentric, there's goodness and maturity in you. Maybe it's fine for you to be goofy as well since it is a part of you."

"I guess it has been a while since I've been like that." Jaune's nervous laughter showed he was calming back down to a more lax behavior. "And…maybe I was overdoing it. Gosh, I feel like such a jerk. Can you forgive me?"

When Blake nodded, she inwardly sighed to see her talk somehow brought the old Jaune back. However, she was slightly worried that there was a piece of Adam that could be found in the boy. She was wary of how often this persona would turn up when she is and isn't there.

" **Nice, thanks for being such a pal, Blake. Now, I heard your culture has this thing where a really strong person gets to have several partners. Is that true in this century? I know the White Fang is doing it for the stupid reasons, but you seem like-."**

"Here Jaune, you dropped this on the way in." Blake immediately presented the Arc boy with the necklace that was Lou.

"Oh, thanks." When Jaune took back his heirloom, the Faunus realized there was no voice inside her head. She kept it in mind that placing some distance from the jewelry was the only way of keeping her inner thoughts safe from Lou.

Suddenly, loud footsteps rang across the huge floor. Blake and Jaune reached for their weapons as they noticed the sound was coming from a large person. This newcomer wore a ship captain's uniform lined with the muscles of a bodybuilder.

"So you two lovemates were the ones making all this ruckus on the S.S. Wild. It looks like it's up to me to finish the job here."

The newcomer's body began to grow in size. Even as Blake fired her gun, the bullets bounced off the target that eventually had its shadow cover the teenagers. The young Hunters prepared for the coming battle just as their new enemy spoke in a way that could have mistaken him for a giant.

"As the captain of this ship, it's my job to throw your corpses overboard for trespassing. Once that's done, we'll be happy to take any capable hands as our new slaves!"

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A/N: This is where a lot of things will happen. Hope everyone gets excited for the next chapter that will not come as fast, but will definitely not take more than two weeks (since I have a life as well).


	22. Free As Air

Chapter 21: Free As Air

A/N: Lots more things are happening in this chapter. Good timing too I guess since today is the start of Volume 3.

Be sure to watch. Enjoy this chapter and again, hope you guys can consider following my twitter that is on the profile's info.

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Jaune and Blake moved as a huge fist struck their former spot. The same hand was pulled back by the so-called captain whose white uniform was ripped mostly around the muscles. Burly and built like a bodybuilder, the man's light skin became dark as he reached a height of a whooping twenty feet. It was because of the area's large space why it suited the captain to reach this height, use his Sem that could help him eliminate the intruders from Beacon.

As his cap fell off to reveal his black hair and the horns of an Angus bull, the so-called captain showed off an evil grin. "It's time for me to take the scum out to sea," he rumbled as his small steps left behind indentations on the steel floor.

The smaller teenagers dodged the huge feet and closed in on the main body. When they struck their weapons against the legs, their blades hardly scratched the tough skin. They didn't have time to pause out of shock as the captain threw out his hands in an attempt to swat the younger Hunters like flies.

While Jaune sprinted across the floor, Blake ran up the captain's back to his head. There, the Faunus unleashed a barrage of gunfire at any place she deemed would at least sting. When she hit one spot near the neck, the captain grunted in pain and had his hand go up for the Faunus.

When the giant felt a body, he wrapped his fingers around it only to have his entire hand become encased in ice. From the ground, Jaune saw that Blake managed to use a shadow to both escape and leave behind the ice Dust that froze the captain's hand.

Jaune couldn't find the time to be impressed as he rolled from another kick. While he ran, he noticed Lou hasn't said anything since the fight started.

" _Lou, are you okay?"_

" **Oh, hey assface. Feeling better now that Blake got you out of your angst mode?"**

Jaune frowned not from annoyance, but knowing Lou was right in this case. While dodging a wild hand, he replied, _"I'm feeling better. Look, I just want to say-."_

" **How much of a dick you were? You asshole, how dare you say I got in your way when I was trying to stop you from hurting yourself!"**

The sudden accusation made the Arc lad freeze. This pause made him bear the full brunt of the captain's knuckles. Despite his Aura protection, the boy was still slammed into the opposite wall. There, his mouth tasted copper from the bit of blood.

When he heard Blake shout, "Jaune, move!" the Arc lad unleashed a **Lumen Burst** to force the incoming fist back with Aura. He slammed his blade into the ground to send a wave of **Luminous Arc** towards the captain's way. The giant managed to step away only to step onto a group of statues that replicated Blake's pointing upwards with her blade.

"Ah, son of a bitch!"

The captain jumped away while holding his foot like it was pricked by a thumbtack. Blake's continued attack allowed Jaune to bend over with hands on knees. " _Okay, I'm sorry. You're right, I shouldn't have said that when you did it for me. Can we talk about it after this is over?"_

" **Naw, hearing sorry's enough for me. I know what you went through, just glad you've lightened up, you damn idiot."**

Lou's comment erased the last bit of unease in the human's mind. This allowed the blond boy to sharpen his focus on the giant that threw a kick his way. Jaune made a running start before he fell on his knees with hand behind him. His palm unleashed a blast of energy that acted as a booster for the boy to slide on as his back bent backwards so the leg could harmlessly pass over him.

The captain roared from his miss as he regained a stance. His stomps tried to crush Jaune while fists went after Blake, the Faunus skipping from his shoulder to another. From above and below, the students kept hacking at every patch of skin they could find. Eventually, the single enemy had enough as his body glowed in a silver color with arms wrapped around his body.

"Little rats, die already!"

An Aura wave blew out of the captain and slammed into the teenagers. While Jaune regained his footing, he became horrified from watching Blake land on the floor and remain still there.

"Now this one here is a potential slave. And she's a Faunus; this day couldn't get any better." The loud captain had a hand reach out for Blake, who slowly began to rise. The large fingers couldn't reach her in time as Jaune was already there to slash at the digits with all of his might. When the giant yelped and pulled away, the blond Hunter raised his shield to have its surface send out a blast of **Lumen Burst**.

"Don't you dare say that about her!" Jaune slammed his blade down to have a **Luminous Shine** crash into the captain's other leg. This forced the WF colossus to stumble back and balance on one leg. When Lou told the boy to bend down, he listened only to find Blake jump off of his back to gain some air with a shadow.

On the same level of the captain's head, Blake used her Semblance once more to ram both knees straight into the bull's face. This caused the enemy to fall like a chopped tree that matched Lou when the necklace inwardly shouted, **"Timber, motherfucker!"**

Still in the air, Blake launched a crescent-shaped Aura from her blade. Right as the attack slammed into the captain's face, Jaune stabbed his transparent saber, the **Arc Save** , into the giant's leg to drain the Faunus of its own energy. The combination prevented the captain from acting as it fell on its back with a resounding echo. As the noise died down, it was this when the hostile Faunus shrunk back to his original size that he had when the teenagers firs saw him.

"Well, that wasn't so bad," Jaune announced as he and Blake gathered near their enemy's unconscious body. "We did pretty well by ourselves, didn't we?"

"Yes, but only against one. We still need to take care of the others on the ship." With her matter-of-fact voice, the brunette waved her hand towards the door. "Ruby and Caelum could be in trouble. The others outside could be in trouble too, so we need to move after we catch our breath"

Jaune nodded as his friend made a point. Before he could move, the sound of groaning metal rattled throughout the air. "Uh, what was that?" When he took another step, the noise grew louder. The blond boy looked down as he realized the floor underneath was becoming lower. This happened as the huge weight on it earlier gave enough stress for an eventual collapse.

" **Kid, you better move before things get ugly."**

When Jaune faced the Faunus, he saw her throw her sickle upwards with an Aura-enhanced arm. This allowed the blade to embed deep into the ceiling; Blake made sure of this as she pulled on the ribbon with her weapon's handle.

"This could work to our advantage." When Blake offered a hand, Jaune took it. He noticed this made the girl smile as she pulled him until the two hugged each other. "Don't let go until we know what is going to be right below us."

The Arc lad held on as the floor's surface collapsed into a hole. He noticed this happened because it was more of a platform attached to the ship with rusty bolts.

" **Neat, looks like a private elevator. And whoa, feels like Blake's got a body that's more than meets the eye. Hug tighter so I could get her three sizes."**

Jaune only sighed as he let go and landed on the surface of the lowered platform. After he heard Blake follow suit, he saw they were in another spacious room that was like the floor above. The only difference was how the lights were more reddish to replicate the dark mood of the new environment.

"Something's not right with this," Blake said as she ran over to a nearby door. A small push allowed her to peek through the space that presented a sight of the other room. The Faunus suddenly reached for her weapons as she yelled, "Jaune, get over here! Ruby's in trouble!"

The called Hunter was forced to run as his ally barged through the door. He followed through to see he was on stairs that led down to a lower floor. It was there where Blake kicked away a person while Ruby slammed the blunt side of her scythe into the other. Jaune noticed the opposition was Faunus folks wearing ragged clothes.

"Blake, don't hurt them!" The leader of Ruby jumped away from a vicious claw strike. "They don't know what they're doing. Try to knock them out if you can!"

Jaune leapt over the railings as he heard his friend's comment. He already knew to put away Crocea Mors and his shield. With empty hands raised, he focused until two shining blades made from **Arc Save** took form right as his feet slammed into the steel floor.

" **Aww shit, that was badass. Bling bling with a bang; it's hero time!"**

The Arc lad went to work by swinging one sword at a man so it could pass the body and drain it of energy. Jaune already slashed through another before his stab into one that tried to claw him.

By the time three bodies were on the floor, Jaune threw one of his swords to have it impale into a Faunus that tried to hit at Ruby's blind spot. When the young Rose saw the body fall, she looked at her 'savior' and asked, "Will she be okay?"

"Yeah, this only makes them weak. Nobody hit by these should be physically hurt." Jaune heard something collapse near him. He found it was the body of a Faunus holding a metallic bar in its hands. The one who knocked him out was Blake, who stood with eyes glaring at the Arc lad with an amber blaze.

"You should watch your surroundings the next time." The brunette turned away to find there were no more hostiles within the area. Jaune felt terrible from believing his Faunus friend was disappointed in him.

" **Yeah, we're going to need to work on your Aura sensing. Other than that, this place would drive me insane too. Look up, numb nuts, I'm talking about the jail cells."**

Jaune followed the instruction to see the mentioned cells were lined across the first and second floor. He was shocked to find most of them still had people, mostly Faunus, locked up inside. It was this why he looked at Ruby and asked, "I guess this is the brig, but why did the Faunus we just fought look like those people?"

"Because they were scared after they saw my scythe." Ruby looked over at her Crescent Rose; Jaune did see how the weapon was considered intimidating. "I didn't really consider that when I rushed through the doors and unlocked them. That was when the fight happened right before you two came along."

Jaune nodded as he analyzed that this place and residents were not taken care of very well for some time. When the boy remembered the fourth companion, he asked, "Hey, where did Caelum go?"

"Caelum separated from me after we reached a room that had doors leading elsewhere. It should be a few doors away from here." Ruby pointed at an open doorway that had rooms lit in brighter shades of colors.

"Then let's go and see if he's okay." This comment came from Blake, who placed hands onto her leader's shoulders before pushing him onwards. "We'll check on him, come back, and then decide then on what to do with the prisoners. I'm not exactly comfortable with having us in this place when we're not together."

Jaune nodded in agreement as he and the girls left outside. Through several rooms with Ruby's guidance, they were able to make it to the area within a few seconds. It was this place that the Arc lad found to be more refreshing with its brighter lights and decorated doors.

"I wasn't exactly here to see which one he went into." Right as Ruby said this, soft sniffles were heard from one of the closed rooms. This served as the answer to where a sad Caelum was residing in at the moment.

Jaune exchanged glances with Blake before he looked at the young Rose. "Ruby, I think you should stay guard out here. We're going to need to talk to Caelum alone for a bit."

"Okay, just make sure he's okay. He doesn't sound so good." The youngest girl raised her hood over head and walked outside to remain on watch. Jaune took a deep breath before he approached the door and pulled on the handle. When he opened it, he was surprised that his first sight was the Faunus boy lying down on a soft bed in a fetal position.

"Caelum?" When he heard no response, the Arc lad walked over and shook the boy's body. "Hey, are you hurt? Come one buddy, speak to me."

The boy dug his face into the bed's sheets. With a muffled voice, he said, "No, just leave me alone here. You don't have to bother taking care of me anymore, not when I'm finally home."

Jaune scanned the room to see a desk filled with papers and books. Decorations filled the walls with many colors, some jewelry he knew could be bought cheap in stores. The last item his eyes settled on was the unoccupied bed that he knew had to belong to the other person who could have cared for the youngest resident of this room.

The Arc lad saw Blake sit beside Caelum and say, "So this is your home. Is this where you've been living in for most of your life?"

With face still in sheets, the Faunus boy nodded as his mouth uncovered itself to clearly reply, "Not since sis first went to Beacon. This was a ship run by people too poor to live out in the city. Faunus or Humans; nobody cared who the other person was just as long as they helped out with something here."

"Then one day, the White Fang came. They just came on and took over everything. When people protested, they were put into the brig. When people tried to fight…they were killed. The walls that used to protect us from the bad things in life hid all of the violence that happened around here."

Blake committed another surprising act of stroking Caelum's head with gentle grazes from her nails. "What about you and your sister? Did the two of you find the same abuse from them?"

"At first, yeah. I tried to deal with it, but one day, they decided picking on sis was a better choice than me. Every night, she would just come in with clothes ripped from those jerks jumping her when she got in. And that smell she tried to hide didn't stop me from knowing they did more things to her."

During his talk, Caelum unconsciously gripped Blake by her pants as if to find comfort. "Then sis was forced to join them one day after they found out she went to Beacon. If I knew she wasn't going to come back on one of those missions, I would have done something to help her. Just anything when I knew…we only had each other in the end. Even now, I can't be strong when she already trusted me to be strong about what happened to her."

Jaune didn't know what to say as he heard the youngest one in the room reveal a tone full of unbearable sadness. While Blake and Pyrrha helped settle his own feelings, he still couldn't stop himself from thinking that he had to do what was best for everyone.

" **Kid, I'm not really saying this for the glory that I try to place onto you. But I think it's time you use your head. The people on this boat really need to make a move if they're ever going to find some relief from the current feces staining their lives."**

The boy undeniably agreed with Lou. And he somehow knew the plan had to start once Ruby appeared at the doorway with a mysterious figure standing near her.

"Hey guys, I know this might be a bad time, but someone who said he's the original leader of this ship wants to talk to all of us."

Jaune made eye contact with Blake and said, "I think you should stay with Caelum for now. He needs someone he could trust…someone like you to stay with him for now."

After Blake nodded, the Arc lad left with Ruby to reach one of the rooms. He noticed the mysterious person was a deer Faunus by the ears, also an elder as depicted by the white beard and mustache on his face.

"So you two are three of our saviors? If so, then let me say thank you for getting rid of the White Fang onboard." The elder one bowed his head. "And I'm so very sorry for the reactions of my fellow inmates. Our experience with strangers did not leave us very trustful, patient even because we were desperate to get out."

"It's fine. We're just happy to be here so we could help." Ruby's cheerful chirp made the elder one raise his head and grin in return.

Although he was fine for fun times, Jaune knew there was a job that had to be done. "Mister, what are you going to do from here on? You can't stay on this ship if the White Fang finds out their people were taken out."

"We plan to leave Vale." The elder's eyes hardened as he gave a straight answer. "We're going to place all of the soldiers in the brig before we leave. If you believe Atlas is going is a better choice, then I'll have to disagree because some of us live here to hide from that damn military."

Jaune didn't disagree as he expected this answer. "Then leave now, all of you can't risk staying here any longer. Do you already have a place in mind?"

"We have contacts in Vacuo who agreed to help us. All we have to do is fire up the engines, then we're ready to go." The elder pumped his fist to show his determination. Ruby didn't seem to approve as she turned to Jaune and asked, "Is this really okay? I know we don't have a lot of options, but still."

"I don't see much choice for these people." Jaune smiled to remain positive about the situation. "But we completed our mission. There are the White Fang folks back on docks that could go to the authorities and we saved these people in a way that works out for everyone. Since they already planned to leave, they should have ideas on what to do once they're in Vacuo space."

All hints of sadness evaporated from Ruby's face. As she returned a small smile, she simply said, "Alrighty then. I guess we really do need to hurry so these guys can leave before anybody decides to bother them."

Jaune faced the leader to say, "And we'll cover you. There could be more of the White Fang somewhere on the docks. I know it's sudden on your part, but we need to work fast before something else happens."

The elder paused to explore his thoughts. When he let out a heavy breath, he said, "I'm really surprised to see anyone, especially kids, help us. Do you expect any favors for your service?"

"Nope because this is our job." Ruby walked on to head for the doorway. "As Hunters, all of us should be willing to help out. For my part, I'll just speed by the jail cells and unlock them so you could have a crew ready to go into action."

The young Rose ran off, vanished as she left with the speed of a fierce wind. Jaune hoped Ruby wasn't committing the same mistake that led to their earlier fight.

"If all Hunters were like her, then I wonder how much better our world would be without damn politics and forgotten mistakes ruining the people out there." The elder looked over at Jaune with eyebrows wagging up and down. "At least you're lucky enough to be with her. You might want to consider sticking with her. There needs to be more people like the two of you in the future.

As the older Faunus laughed, Jaune gave him a strange look for the sexual innuendo that only Lou would approve of.

" **This senile old fart is saying consider. Summer would be proud to have a grandchild from your loins, right Jaune?"**

The Arc lad was about to protest until he saw Blake run over to him with Caelum following right behind her. Her worried face already had the blond teenager prepare for bad news.

"Jaune, we need to get back on the docks. Yang just said she and the others are fighting something they can't handle by themselves."

The moment Blake said her info, Jaune felt his own Scroll vibrate. As he knew this would only lead to more trouble, the Arc lad ran with the others so to make their exit out of the liberated ship.

* * *

A/N: So I had the White Fang, crazy prisoners, and one mid-boss fight Jaune and his gang. Exactly what else could be so bad that the others on the docks couldn't handle?


	23. Notice

Notice

Hey everyone, sorry to say there will be no new chapter this week. I'm busy again with life, but it'll come out as soon as it's done.

In the meantime, I'll keep up with Twitter again. I usually have progress of the chapters happen there so you could keep up with/ spy on my progress. Any readers are also welcome on tweeting questions. RWBY content and other anime/internet stuff will go on there to keep up with some things of interest.

And thank you readers for following/ favoriting this story. To see it reach this number is amazing since all of you enjoy this fan-made story of our favorite blonde hero. While things could get dark every once in a while, our hero is sure to rise above the challenge. He also has the lovely ladies to help him out along the way.

Oh, and one more thing. If reviewers want to see Jaune with a particular person, leave it in the reviews. I actually feel like doing a filler chapter, so the girl/boy who gets the most votes will have a scene together with Jaune.


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